My Sweet Nightmare
by bottlecaps
Summary: Rei finds an injured girl lying in the street and brings her home. Only thing is, she can be as cold as ice. Will Rei be able to melt the frigid walls around her heart before the secrets of her past come back to haunt her?
1. Default Chapter

**Bottlecaps: This is my third fanfic. Sadly, "the things they'd never say", my second fanfic, was removed because it wasn't technically a fanfic, it was, in fact, a bunch of things that them members of the bladebreakers, would never say. Needless to say, I apologize for disappointing everybody who reviewed, said it was good, and wanted me to do all the other teams in a miniseries. Anyways, where is my disclaimer? He's late again I suppose. Tyson! Get your piggy little self over here and stop eating long enough to tell these people that I don't own beyblades.**

**Tyson: looks up. She doesn't own beyblades. goes back to eating.**

**Bottlecaps: Finally. Now that the ridiculous disclaimer is taken care of, I proudly present to you chapter1 of My Sweet Nightmare.**

'_Thinking'_

"talking"

It was about 4o'clock when I came home from school. I cautiously opened the door before peering in to make sure the coast was clear. It appeared so. I crept in and started to run to my room, but just then someone grabbed me from behind, pulling on my shirt-neck so I couldn't breathe.

"Where do you think your going missy?" came a deep man's voice.

I had been caught. 'Shit' I thought to myself. I didn't respond until the man shook me, hard.

"To my room." I managed to say between my gritted teeth. I could hardly breathe. It felt like he was suffocating me.

"And tell me. What are you going to do in your room?" he questioned, tightening his grip a little more.

I continued to answer his charade of questions until he seem satisfied. He threw me onto the ground and walked into the kitchen, grabbed a beer, and then proceeded to living room to watch t.v. _'Oh no!' _I thought._ 'He's drinking again. No. I don't want to go through what I did last time again.'_ I was remembering the last time he had gotten drunk. He had lost all grips on reality and had repeatedly beaten me with, well, with whatever he could find. A lamp, a chair, his hands, a whip, anything. Absentmindedly I fingered a bruise, a mark from a previous encounter with his rage. Nobody at school noticed them. The bruises and cuts and scars, I mean. I was good at lying. And I didn't socialize with people. I thought about trying ro make friends but then I realized that I was different from them. Not just because of what my dad does to me, but looks as well.

I'm thin, but I have a teenager's curves. Not surprising since I am fourteen after all. My skin is tan. Not too light but not too dark either. My hair is brownish blonde. All of these things seem normal, and they are. But my eyes. My eyes are different from everybody else's. They are grey. Cold, solid, steel grey, with darker rings inside and flecks of other colors. They hold no emotion whatsoever. They are like one-way mirrors, able to see and read others' emotions, but nobody can see mine.

I love them. My empty grey eyes. They make me feel strong because nobody can see the pain inside them. Nobody can see the years of torture and hidden emotions locked away inside. I take care of myself. My dad doesn't care about me. He hits me. He abuses me. And I am like a cold, silent stone, invisible to everybody but myself. I love my hard grey eyes.

I went to my room, opened my bedroom window, and sat down on my cot. I stared solemnly out of the window. Outside, a storm was brewing. The troubled sky darkened and the clouds completely blocked the sun. Rain began to fall; lightly at first and then heavier and heavier. Soon all I could hear was the monotonous sound of rain beating against the wooden roof. It calmed me until I was completely relaxed. I love rain, and I love storms.

I was pulled out of my reverie when I heard a sharp, loud bang. Then I heard a series of dull thuds. I realized that it was my father stumbling up the stairs to my room. _'No!' _I thought. _' I refuse to go through this again. I won't be abused like this. I am sick and tired of being Daddy's little girl, ready to jump at his command or be his little plaything anymore. I've got to run away before I won't be able to. I've got to escape.' _I ran to the door and quickly locked it. I wasn't sure how long it would hold, but I had to hold him off as long as possible for me to have enough time to make my escape.

Frantically I grabbed my school backpack and dumped out everything inside. I couldn't leave without clothes so I just grabbed the bare necessities. Some pairs of underwear, a bra, two pairs of jeans and three shirts. I had barely shoved everything into my backpack when my dad began to bang on my door.

"Starr Esther Marie! You open this door right NOW or I'm going to break it down." he screamed.

I flinched as I heard the door groan under my father's weight. He wasn't exactly light at two-hundred and three pounds.

"No!" I replied heatedly. "You always hurt me when you get like this. I'm going away so you can never hurt me like this again. I am NOT like some dog you can beat down when it disobeys."

Just then, I heard the splintering of wood. The door had broken. My father stood there, panting lightly, his eyes boring into mine. In a flash he was across the room, twisting my arm behind my back roughly. It burned and I yelped in pain. I could easily smell the alcohol in his breath and it made my stomach flop. I wanted to throw up right then and there, it was so bad.

He threw me onto the floor and pinned me down so my back was up towards him. He began to hit me. Each slap from his heavy hand felt like it weighed a ton. I don't know where he got the whip from but I'm guessing he had it behind him. The whip made a sickening sound as it made contact with my skin. After a few hits, I could feel blood running down my back. It made my shirt sticky and my back felt like it was on fire. I gritted my teeth as I tried to turn over. The pain was almost unbearable and anger started building inside me. Adrenaline gave me enough strength to completely turn over and I stabbed my dad in the eyes as hard as I could with my fingers. I stood up, panting while blood dripped off my back.

"You bastard!" he bellowed angrily. "Where are you?" he waved his hands in the air, trying to find me.

I ran to the door and raced down the stairs. I could see the door._ ' I'm going to make it! I'm going to be free from this nightmare. Free!'_ I couldn't believe it. I was outside! Outside with the rain and the wind and the thunder and lightning. I was free.

" Bitch! Get back here." shouted my father, stumbling outside into the storm.

Panic crept over me in a wave. I had to be free. I had to escape. There is no way I would ever go back to him. Never!

I heard a clicking noise and I froze, rooted to the spot. I turned around to see my father laughing, an insane grin spreading across his face. In his hands he held a black shiny gun, pointing at me.

" What are you going to do now, bitch? Hm? I don't see anybody coming to your rescue, you little grey-eyed freak. Just come back here and I won't have to shoot you." he smirked.

I was petrified. I knew I should've just kept running. It wouldn't have been as easy to shoot and actually hit a moving target, I shuddered_. 'A moving target. That's what I am to him. A target!'_

I ran. I ran harder and faster than I ever had before. I heard a bang and then the wind seemed to roar in my ears. A searing pain in my right shoulder nearly made me fall but I kept running. I knew he had shot me, but at least I was free. I rounded the corner of my street. Only then did I stop and look back. I could no longer see my house. I was FREE!

Just then, my little victory celebration was cut short as my injuries decided to make themselves known. Everything hurt! The rain had washed away most of the blood on my back but now my shirt was stuck to the wounds inflicted by the whip. My right arm hung limply. I could see the bullet hole on my shoulder clearly. It had made a clean entry through solid bone and had exited out of the other side. It hurt like hell, but at least I didn't have to worry about having a bullet trapped inside my shoulder. My vision swam and I started to get dizzy. I took a few steps and then stumbled. I fell to the ground.

" I... have..to get up." I moaned. Everything seemed to be spinning and the rain just pounded harder and harder. It stung my skin. I was on the brink of unconsciousness when I felt someone pick me up. I panicked, thinking the person was my father, and I struggled to break free. The person just held me tighter and then I heard a voice. I couldn't make any sense of what it was saying but it made me tired listening to it. I relaxed and let sleep take me away on peaceful wings.

**Well, thats chapter 1. In the next chapter she meets the bladebreakers. And then, just a little later on, the purpose of the story becomes clear. Somehow, I'll make it clear. Did you like? I know it doesn't any characters at all from beyblades, but just hold your horses. I'll get to it in chapter 2. Thanks for reading!**


	2. past revealed

**Bottlecaps: Okay, this is where Starr meets Rei and she talks about her past. In the next few chapters, she is introduced to the bladebreakers and she gradually becomes friends with them. And now I'm going to shut up otherwise I'll end up spoiling the whole chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Me own beyblades? Your have got to be kidding me! What world are you crazy insane people living in?**

'_Thinking'_

A lot of people think that when your unconscious and then wake up, your eyelids magically flutter open and the first question you ask is "Where am I.?" Well. That is NOT true. And I should know.

My mind woke up a long time before my body did. Everything around me was black. I sat on the darkness while my conscious brain analyzed the situation. I remembered everything that had happened. My dad shooting me, my escape to freedom, someone holding me. That last thought caught my attention. My question was "Who held me and carried me to wherever I am now?" At that, something started glowing from inside my pocket.

"Charity?" I half-asked ,half-thought to myself. Charity was my bitbeast. I had received her not long after my father had started beating me in his drunken rampages. She had comforted and guided me and given me strength when I started to feel like walls of darkness were closing around me. She found me, stuck by my side, gave me courage. She was everything to me.

" Starr. It's okay. You will be alright. You did it, Starr. You escaped. I am so proud of you." the angel's kind words comforted me. Yes. She looks like an angel.

Charity's wings are a brilliant white. And her eyes are a clear crystal blue. In her humanoid form (which I described above) she looks like a young child with hair almost the color of snow and it flows all the way down to her knees. In her bitbeast form, she is a large white wolf. Her eyes turn yellow and her claws are as sharp as diamonds.

"I'm tired, Charity. So tired. I just... want to rest." I could barely keep my eyes open. I started to drift into a heavy dreamless sleep.

"Then you rest. I'll be here if you need me." her soft ringing tones echoed in my mind as darkness settled over me and I was completely out cold.

I hadn't been sleeping for very long when my body decided to wake itself up. I didn't want to return to the world of the living, but quickly my body dragged me back to reality before I could do otherwise.

My eyes snapped open and I took a deep breath. I was lying on my stomach so I realized that somebody obviously was aware of the long bloody welts that covered my back. Several bandages wrapped all the way around my body from my stomach to my back. My right shoulder was in a cast. _'I must be in the hospital. How else could I have a cast on my arm?'_

Just then I heard someone walking towards me. Since I couldn't turn over because of my back, I panicked and tried to move away. A soft moan escaped from my lips as pain shot through me.

" Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you, although, by the looks of it, somebody did a pretty good job of it. My name is Rei. What's yours?"

Rei. Rei. I liked that name. Rei. I figured he must have been the one to take me to wherever I was now.

'_Now here comes the question'_

"Where am I?" I asked. I knew I was going to be there for some time so I wanted to know where I was going to be staying.

"Well. Right now your at my house. I was out for a jog before my training and I saw you running. I watched you stop, look back at something and then your started falling. Luckily, I have some cat demon in me and I was able to catch you before you fell."

"Training? For what? And cat demon? You're a cat demon?"

"Beyblade training. No, I'm not a full cat demon. Only half of me is cat demon and the other half is human. Now, would you please be nice enough to tell me your name?"

I sighed. I wanted so badly to just leave my past behind and start over new. Name included. But I guess some things have to stay. He certainly did have a way with people. Normally, if it were anybody else, I wouldn't have spoken to them at all. I'm not shy, I just don't really like talking to people.

"My name is Starr." I said calmly, almost coldly. _'Why does it seem like every time I talk, I say something rude or mean? I should've been nicer to him. After all, he did practically save me from my father.' _I shivered as I felt a sudden chill pass through my body.

"Are you cold?" asked Rei, concern in his voice.

"I'm fine. I'm not cold." I lied between my teeth. _'Why is it so hard to lie to him? Maybe it's because he seems to already trust me although he only met me not that long ago.'_

"No, you're lying. I can tell when somebody is lying and I know you are. Why are you lying to me?" asked Rei. A hint of sadness floated in his voice and flickered in his eyes.

He stood up and walked out of the room, returning only a minute later with a blanket. He gently placed it on me and started to leave.

"Don't go." I pleaded. "Please. I feel safer with you here. I don't want _him_ to come back and get me." '_Gosh! What the heck am I doing. I wasn't supposed to be asking him to stay here with me. I'm supposed to be independent! Hello! What am I thinking!_'

"Fine. I'll stay, but only if you promise to tell me some things about yourself. It's not every day that a girl comes from the middle of nowhere and then collapses on the street with injuries."

I couldn't believe him. I don't know why, but he was really convincing. It seemed like maybe he'd had his own experience with hell. He certainly was observational. His attention was focused solely on me, and not in a bad way. He was curious, I knew that. And I also knew that he trusted me and for that reason, I trusted him. I had to tell somebody about my past because it hurt too much to keep it locked away inside me.

"Fine. I will." I watched as he sat down and waited to here what I had to say.

" My name is Starr. You already know that. I'm 15 years old. My mother was raped and then shot when I was seven. She was dead before medical help arrived. They never did find her killer. My father started drinking not long afterwards. He said he couldn't live without her because she was everything to him. One day, after I had turned eight, I came home from school and he was drinking. When he saw me, he dropped the bottle and he started hitting me. I soon learned that if I came home from school and there were empty bottles on the floor, I would end up being beaten. One time he even slashed me on my left arm with the jagged edges of a broken bottle." I paused and shifted painfully so he could see the long pale scar running up my arm. I continued. "He said that it was my fault that she had died. I hated being hit. At first, it was only hitting. Then he found things to hit me with that would cause me more pain. He said that I had to suffer for what I did to my mother. I didn't know what he was talking about. But he didn't care. Some days I would miss school because I was lying in my bed, unconscious because of being thrown against a wall or being pushed down the stairs." I stopped. Silent tears slid down my face. My voice just left me and I sobbed. Rei helped me sit up and then, he did something that surprised me. He hugged me, gently to avoid hurting me. He rocked me slowly as I cried into his shirt. For the first time in seven long years, I felt free. I felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

"It's going to be okay, Starr. I promise. You can live here with me if you want. I swear, I'll never let anything happen to you. He won't find you here." Rei said.

I was shocked. I had never had any friends. I hated talking to anybody, but somehow this person seemed so very different from everybody else. I could talk to hi. He didn't judge me for how I looked. He didn't care. All he knew was that I had gone through hell and wanted to make sure that I never had to go through it again.

"Thank you." I whispered. "Thank you so much. But you know I'm not done telling you about me, right?"

"Yes, but we can talk more later. I imagine it was very hard for you to tell me everything that you did to almost a complete stranger." he explained.

"You aren't a stranger." I said. "Your just a friend that I've never met before. We can be friends right?" I asked. For some reason I thought that he would just leave and abandon me. I'd been so alone in my past except for Charity and I wanted to spread my newfound wings of freedom as far as I could.

"You thought that I wouldn't be your friend? Of course we will. And later, I can introduce you to my friends. Okay?" Rei smiled and laughed.

"Okay!" I said, genuinely pleased.

"Now I'm going to go to bed. It's around eleven thirty and I have to sleep because I'm not vampire. Try not to move around to much otherwise the bandages could come loose."

"I hope your not a vampire."I smiled.

"I'm not. Trust me. Goodnight. I'll see you in the morning."

"You think I'm going to move around a lot in this condition?" I pointed to my bandages.

"You never can be too careful, you know?"

"Night, Rei." I turned my head and closed my eyes. I heard him walk lightly across the room and flick the light switch off.

"By the way Starr, I really like your eyes. They're very pretty."

I smiled deeply into my pillow. I wasn't sure if he knew how much that meant to me but it felt like my life was back on track and things couldn't possibly get any better. Before I knew it, I was

asleep.

**Yay! I finished the second chapter. My life is spared. I think I did a pretty good job. If you people hate it, that's fine with me because I'm satisfied with it. I just hope that I lived up to your expectations. If you have any suggestions or comments, or ideas I can use to make it better, you know what to do. Thanks for reading. bottlecaps**


	3. thinking

**Hello again. I was soooooo on a sugar high when I wrote this so anything can happen, although I don't think much will. Other than what's supposed to happen, but there might be considering I'm on a sugar high and when I'm on a sugar high, I can be really unpredictable. I would like to say thank you to everyone who reviewed. And now, on to the story.**

**Disclaimer: I've never owned beyblades, except in my dreams, so I don't know why you people seem to think I do.**

'_Thinking'_

Starr's POV.

I sat outside watching the wind fling rain upon the ground. Another storm, which I didn't mind because I like storms. It has been several days since Rei found me and brought me here. Several days since I escaped from the living nightmare of my drunken father's beatings. Several days since I've embraced freedom and the wounds previously inflicted by my father have begun to heal.

I'm thinking about calling this place home. Rei is really nice and he's a great chef. I wonder if he ever considered cooking school. I took out my beyblade from my pocket and studied it. I've always kept her close to me. The blade is a solid grey like my eyes with a white attack ring. In the center the bit-chip depicts a snow white wolf with cerulean blue and silver armor. Yellow eyes stare fiercely ahead in a determined gaze.

I couldn't really launch my beyblade that well. I needed my right hand to hold the launcher and my shoulder was still healing. I knew it was going to be a while before I could beyblade again but I didn't care about the injuries. I wanted to beyblade. I took out my launcher from my other pocket. I inspected it. The launcher was black and grey with one blue star on each side. Scratches marred the sides and it was a little dirty. Just then I heard a noise and I turned around to see Rei standing by the open door.

Rei's POV.

I had been watching Starr for some time before I decided to go outside. I could tell by the expression on her face that she was thinking really hard about something. But she hid it well. In fact, the only way I could tell was by her staring at the rain. She could be good enough to fool even Kai. Either she had trained herself to do that, or her past had forced her to hide behind a mask the way Kai does most of the time.

I opened the door and she turned around to face me. She motioned and I sat down beside her. She was staring at the rain hard, like she was trying to think of something to say. We sat in a comfortable silence until finally she spoke.

"Hello, Rei." she said.

"What are you doing out here?" I questioned.

"Watching the rain fall. Thinking." she replied.

"What do you have in your hand?" I asked again.

"You've trained for beyblading and you're asking what this is?" she indicated to the beyblade. In the early afternoon sunshine that shown weakly through the rain clouds I could make out a dark grey beyblade and a white attack ring. It looked worn, though well taken care of and I could she that she really must have really loved the sport of beyblade. There was a hint of sadness in her voice when she spoke.

"This is Charity, my bitbeast. I got her not long after.." she trailed off, knowing that I would understand.

"You have a bitbeast. That's really good, you must be a very good beyblader."

"Yeah, but probably not half as good as you, although." she stopped suddenly, as if she couldn't believe what she had almost said. She gave me a strange look and turned back to watching the rain which had faded to a light drizzle.

"What is it Starr?"

"Nothing." she looked at me and studied my face. "I'm not ready to tell you yet." she said honestly.

"I understand, Starr." those words seemed to calm her down although it made her sink into an even deeper level of thinking. Her face flickered with some emotion but quickly passed into a stoic mask eerily similar to Kai's. I had to laugh. That snapped her out of her reverie and she looked at me.

Starr's POV.

I wasn't sure if I would ever decide to tell him about what I was thinking about. I knew he wanted to know. And when he said he understood, I don't know. Those words were just so comforting. It was like having someone completely and wholly understand what you're saying without asking questions or getting confused. I really wanted to tell him about the life I'd been living in the shadows but part of me hung back. Maybe because I was scared or I just didn't want to think about it right then and there. I brooded over wether to tell him or not when suddenly I heard him laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" I demanded quietly.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just. It's just that you were thinking and you reminded me so much of one of my friends. He's like that all the time. Cold, silent, but he is a really loyal friend and I trust him with my life." he laughed again. "Maybe it is time for you to meet my friends. Do you want to?" asked Rei.

I didn't want to think any more. I had made up my mind. I would tell him, eventually.

"Sure." I replied smiling.

"Well then. Lets go. I'm sure they would all love to meet you."

I blushed slightly. "You really think so?"

"Yes, of course. Although I don't know how much you'll like them. I have a feeling you'll get along with Kai." he replied.

I stood up stretching lightly because of the bandages. My shoulder was still stiff and it hurt a lot some times, but I would be able to beyblade again. I would make sure of that.

"Let's go." I said. I walked inside, grabbed my jacket, and we set off in the glimmering sunshine as the last few trickles of rain plopped onto the ground before the clouds seemed to dissipate in thin air. A wind blew across my back and I shivered. It felt so good to be alive. So good to be free.

**Yes I know that this chapter was considerably shorter than the last one. And there are still many unanswered questions. Hopefully I'll get to them in chapter four. Sorry. Signing out, Bottlecaps.**


	4. meetings

**Hello again everybody. I really need to work on my other story but right now I'm wrapped up in this one so that one has to wait. I wish I could've updated sooner but I'm grounded and I'm not, repeat not supposed to be online. Anyways, here is chapter4. I'll switch viewpoints every now and then.**

**disclaimer: I DO own beyblades... in my dreams.**

Chapter 4. Meetings

Rei's POV

We walked for a little while and turned occasionally. The air was cool and the wind blew slightly. The scent of rain still lingered in the air. With my sense of smell stronger because of my cat demon blood, it seemed heavy and thick. I suppose to Starr it must have been pleasant but something made me think otherwise.

It wasn't because her nose was twitching. It wasn't. It must have had something to do with the fact that although her face looked expressionless, she seemed to be aware of everything around her. When two birds started twittering, she glanced. When the wind stirred the leaves on the ground, she looked. She observed her surroundings carefully, and it seemed as though she was taking mental notes.

"What are you doing?" I asked her gently.

"Huh..." it was a few seconds before she responded. "Nothing. Why?" Starr asked.

"Well. You were really quiet and then you started looking around everywhere. I don't think anyone is hiding around here so you don't have to worry. I'll protect you if anyone even tries to hurt you."

"I can defend myself!" exploded Starr.

'_Whoa! Where did that come from? She was quiet one minute and yelling at me viciously the next. She reminds me so much of Kai. She is just like him. They're so similar, it's almost creepy.'_

I lapsed into silence as Starr and I continued our walk down the street to Tyson's house. We were nearly there. I could see the house as we approached.

Starr's POV.

I was feeling bad about snapping to Rei like that. I sighed. _'Why me? Why do I always have to screw up talking to people. It isn't exactly my fault...' _I stopped as I felt Rei tug on my jacket sleeve. I turned to look at him.

"We're here." stated Rei.

"Where?" I asked.

"At my friend's house. Come on inside so I can introduce you to them."

I mused._ 'There's more than one? Well. It can't be too bad. I guess I'm just going to have to meet "them". Whoever "them" is._

"Okay. Let's go. It's starting to get a little chilly." I stuffed my hands into my jacket pockets and followed Rei inside.

Two boys, both in there teens, were sitting on chairs near a computer.

Rei's POV.

I stepped into the house with Starr following right behind me. Max and Tyson were on the computer.

"Hey guys. Come here for a minute. I want you to meet a new friend of mine."

They looked up and saw Starr behind me. Max and Tyson pushed their chairs back, got up, and walked towards me.

"Who's that?" asked Max.

"Starr. Meet Max. The navy haired boy next to him is Tyson." I pointed them out to Starr. Then I turned to Max and Tyson.

"Max. Tyson. Meet Starr." I gestured to Starr.

"Nice to meet you Starr." said Max holding out his hand. I hesitated at first, and then shook it.

"You too." I said as politely as I could.

"Do you have any food?" asked Tyson.

"TYSON! At least say hello before you start asking if she has food. You're being rude. Do you think about anything other than food all the time!" I said to Tyson.

"I'm sorry Starr. His brain is only big enough for one subject. And that, unfortunately, is food. Just ignore him and he might leave you alone."

"Actually, speaking of food, I am kinda hungry. Do you have anything to eat?" laughed Starr.

I was surprised. Talking to her earlier I got the message that she had a frosty silent demeanor. Hearing her laugh made me happy. I was happy for her. She was finally learning how to be alive.

"We might have food. Unless, of course, Tyson ate it all." said Max.

Starr's POV.

It wasn't so bad. I could live without Tyson, but I wanted to know Max a little better. The blonde haired teen was kinda cute and his eyes were a beautiful sea green.

"I'm hungry. Do you have anything to eat?" I asked, hearing my stomach grumble.

"I don't know. There might be some if Tyson didn't eat it all. Let's go find out." said Max smiling. He led me into the kitchen.

"What do you like?" asked Max.

"Could I have a peanut butter sandwich with pickle chips?" I asked.

"You like that too? Awesome. Tyson and Rei said I must have something wrong with my brain but I know they're just playing around." replied Max handing me a sandwich and a glass of milk.

"Thanks. So, tell me some things about you. I would like to learn more about you."

"Sure. But only if I can learn about you too." smiled Max.

"Okay." I agreed, not wanting to make a bad first impression.

"Well. I beyblade like Rei and Tyson do. My beyblade is green and my bit beast's name is Draciel. He's a very, very, very big turtle. Draciel is also one of my best friends. We really understand each other. My full name is Maxwell Tate, but everybody calls me Max or Maxie. I'm not sure if the guys know my name is Maxwell so don't tell them. They'd start making fun of me. Now, tell my some stuff about you." Max made himself a peanut butter and pickle sandwich complete with a glass of milk and sat down across from me.

"My full name is Starr Esther Marie and I call myself Starr." I stopped, noticing that Max had a look of confusion written all over his face. I didn't want to tell him about my past so I had avoided it as best as I could.

"I'm sorry." I apologized before explaining that I did not really like talking to people.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Starr. I didn't know that. If I had known I wouldn't have made you talk." said Max, almost guiltily.

"It's alright. Besides, I actually like talking to you. And I'm not finished talking yet either. I also beyblade and a bit beast. Her name is Charity and she is a white wolf with blue and silver armor. Here, see." I said taking my beyblade out of my pocket and handing it to him. He looked at the beyblade.

"Why are there so many scratches on the side and none on the top?" he asked.

I answered him honestly.

"My launcher isn't the best. Something is wrong with it and I haven't quite figured it out."

"Really?" asked Max. "Kenny might be able to fix that. He's always repaired our beyblades when they've become damaged or something is wrong with them. He even upgrades them from time to time as well as our launchers."

"You would do that? For me?" I asked. I was surprised. I guess I was so used to being treated rudely by my father that any act of kindness seemed wonderful to me.

Again Max looked at me strangely. He started to say something but was cut off when Tyson and Rei walked into the kitchen.

"Rei. Could you take Starr's launcher to Kenny? She said that there was something wrong with it and I thought it would be nice if she was able to train with us in the morning once her shoulder has healed." Max questioned eagerly.

'_Wow. These friends of Rei's are really nice. Still, this is all new and strange to me. I just hope that neither of them asks about my past. I'm not going to tell them because I don't trust them yet. Well,_ _definitely not yet. But Max is starting to win me over already and I hardly even know him. I don't even know why I'm thinking all these softie thoughts. But it is a rather nice change._

"Thanks Rei." I said. I took out my launcher from my back pocket and handed it to him. He walked out of the kitchen. Instead of talking to Max or Tyson, I got up and followed him out.

"Wait." I said, catching up with him.

Rei's POV.

'_It seems like she's getting along with the others alright. That's very good. I wonder what her reaction will be when she meets Kai. Oh well, I'll worry about that when the time comes._

"So Starr. How do you like Tyson and Max? You seem to be getting along with them just fine. I'll let you get used to them for a while before I introduce you to Kai."

Her footsteps stopped. Silence was the only reply in the dark hallway. I looked over my shoulder. She was standing there, hands clenched, her face staring at the ground.

"Who...?" she whispered before glaring defiantly at me. "Who?" she repeated louder this time.

"Never mind." I said, trying to avoid the sudden situation as quickly as possible.

"Oh. Okay. So, when will Kenny be able to fix my launcher?" Starr smiled but I could tell it was fake. She was thinking again. But not before slipping on a mask so eerily similar to Kai's it made me shiver. I suppose I should have been used to it by now, but right then and there I couldn't. My heart was beating loudly even though I know nobody could have heard it.

"Soon." I said hiding the discomfort in my voice. "Don't worry. He's a computer whiz and he loves fixing things."

"That's good. I can't wait to beyblade again." said Starr. I could tell she was trying to force herself to be nice and not snap at me.

"Kenny's in here." I pointed to the room. "All you have to do is hold out your launcher and he'll get the message. I'm going to go for a walk but I'll be back before Kenny finishes repairing it."

"K." she said and then slipped into the room. As I walked out it the chilly night air, my thoughts delved deeper into the questions concerning

Starr's reaction to the mention of Kai's name. _'Why are they so alike. Do they somehow know each other. And if so, then how do they know each other...' _I shook my head but that one thought kept repeating over and over again in my mind. _'Do they know each other...' _

**So. What do you think? Interesting twist, no? I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible but I'm out of ideas. If anybody has any thoughts on what I can do to improve it or ideas on making it better, you know what to do. Signing out, Bottlecaps.**


	5. a beybattle

**Hello, everybody. I tried as hard as I could to stay away from the computer but the stories kept calling me so I decided to write more. I noticed some mistakes after updating and rereading the last chapter so I fixed it and replaced it. Sorry about that. Well, here is chapter 5 of My Sweet Nightmare.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own beyblades.**

**avatar of fyre: thanks so much for the reviews on both facfictions. very much appreciated. and now, much to your delight, chapter 5!Thanks also to everybody else that has reviewedso far.**

"Talking"

'_thinking'_

Chapter 5. A beybattle.

Several days after the strange incident between Starr and Rei, Starr was taken to a doctor's office. Her shoulder cast was removed and her arm x-rayed. The doctors examined the pictures before pronouncing that her shoulder had healed and she could beyblade again if she wanted. They also gave her some pain medicine just in case it started hurting again. The injuries sustained from the whip still had some healing to do and the bandages still needed to stay on, but as long as she wasn't running, she would be okay. Kenny repaired her launcher. But not before noticing something strange about the launcher.

Starr's POV

"Hey guys! Come here for a minute and take a look at this." exclaimed Kenny loudly. I walked over to Kenny who was holding up the launcher and jumping up and down in excitement.

"What is it, Kenny?" I asked. By now, Rei, Max, and Tyson, had also gathered near him.

"Look." he said, pointing to the ripcord hole on the left side.

"I don't see anything wrong with it." said Max and Tyson at the same time.

It was Rei, which didn't surprise me at all, who pointed out the difference in my launcher from everybody else's.

"Her ripcord hole is on the left side unlike all of our's. We have ours on the right side because we use our right hands to pull them out. That's because we are right handed." explained Rei.

"That means that Starr must use her left hand to pull out her ripcord. She must be left handed. Are you, Starr?" asked Kenny asked, turning to face me.

"Yes, I am left handed. But I don't think it makes a difference when I beyblade. What do you want me to do? Battle someone for you?" I answered with sarcasm biting the edge of my sentence.

"Actually. I would love it if you beybattled Max. That way I could see what affect it had on an opponent's beyblade and I could also load the data into Dizzi and register you a blader, depending on the level of your skill." Kenny practically shouted.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Starr. You should never say anything sarcastic in front of him. He doesn't take it as sarcasm but as though you really mean it. I'm sorry, but I don't think we'll be able to save you from Kenny. He's kind of in a work mode and the last time he got into a work mode, he nearly stole Max's beyblade. He kept muttering things under his breath like "bit beast... upgrade... talking." Trust me, its freaky." explained Rei.

"Really? Maybe you should get him checked out or something. He might be mental. But I don't mind a battle. I haven't bladed in a long time and I'm sure Charity won't mind having some good competition. Max? You want to battle me?" I asked turning to Max.

He shook is head vigorously causing his blonde hair to fall into his face. Slivers of his green eyes peeped out between them. He looked so cute I had to laugh. I did.

"What did I do now?" he asked laughing with me.

"You look silly. That's why." I giggled. _'I truly feel at home here. I hope the others don't think I'm hitting on Max or anything.' _I stole a glance at Rei and Tyson. _'Yep.' _I thought. _"I can see that question right behind their eyes. I don't think they're going to ask me though. I'll let them decide that for themselves.'_

"Hey Max. Are you ready to beybattle?" I asked. I was really psyched up about this whole battle. I wanted to prove myself to the others. That desire burned brightly within me and I could already feel adrenaline rush through my veins.

"Sure. Let's go outside. We'll have room to release our bit beast and Tyson's grandfather, or Grandpa, as everybody here calls him, set up a beydish in his backyard. He installed it right after our team won the first beyblading world tournament. That way, when we all train, we can battle too." said Max.

"Alright. Let's go!" I ran outside with Max, Rei, Tyson, and Kenny following close behind me. Once we got to the dish, Kenny plopped himself onto the ground and opened his laptop. A female voice greeted Kenny so I assumed that the voice belonged to Dizzi, his bit beast. Rei had spoken to me about the bit beast apparently trapped inside of Kenny's computer a few days ago. My focus shifted to the beyblade in my hand.

"Ready?" Max asked.

"Yep." I answered.

Rei's POV.

'_I can't help thinking that it is just too soon for Starr to beyblade. I am eager to see what she can do in the dish, that much I admit. But I don't want her putting to much strain on her shoulder. I'll just wait and see what happens.' _I thought before realizing that I sounded just like Kenny. _'Since when is my job to be the worrywart in this group?' _I know I must have had a strange look on my face because Tyson tugged on my shirt and asked me if my brain was coming back from La-la land anytime soon. I pushed him away and sat down next to Kenny.

"Three, two, one! Let it RIP!" shouted Max and Starr simultaneously before firing their beyblades into the beydish.

Around and around they spun, avoiding each other's attacks. Only seconds after the beyblades had been released, Kenny let out a gasp and started clicking a whole bunch of things on his computer. I looked over at his screen and asked him what he was doing.

"Look." he said, pointing to his computer screen. On it two images rotated and I recognized them as the bottoms of beyblades spinning.

"This one is Max's." he explained, pointing to the picture on the top. It was spinning to the right. "And this is Starr's." he pointed to the bottom. It was spinning to the left.

"So?"I asked. I didn't understand what Kenny was getting at.

Kenny sighed, apparently exasperated that I had no clue what he was talking about.

"Oh why can't anybody be smart like me?" said Kenny shaking his head.

"What's that supposed to mean? Explain your point?" I asked. I was slightly upset from Kenny's insult and it reflected in my voice. I know because Kenny shrank back and regarded me with fearful eyes. He laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry, Kenny. I didn't mean to scare you. It was an accident. Now can you please explain your point?' I asked.

"It's alright, Rei. I know you didn't mean to. Anyways, let me explain. Observe Dizzi's screen. See those two numbers. The one on the top is Max's rpm, or rotations per minute and the one on the bottom is, of course, Starr's. Now watch. Max! Starr! Attack each other now." Kenny yelled to them.

"You're a lot tougher than I thought. Go Draciel!" shouted Max, summoning his bit beast.

"And you're pretty good yourself, Max. Go Charity!" Starr complemented before also releasing her bit beast.

A brilliant light enveloped both bladers and into the sky flew two bit beasts. One a giant turtle, and the other a snow white wolf with cerulean blue and silver armor. They collided in midair and bounced back.

"Watch. See! Because Starr's beyblade rotates oppositely than Max's, when she attacks, she actually reduces the speed of his beyblade. Isn't that incredible? It's like a secret weapon." Kenny explained bouncing up and down in excitement at his newest discovery.

"Wow, that is pretty neat. But then why doesn't Max's blade affect Starr's?" I asked.

"Because the attack ring on Starr's is reversed too. It is especially designed for attacking "right handed" beyblades. If Max launched his blade with his left hand, they still wouldn't be evenly matched because his attack ring would not work effectively. In fact, it would slow down his beyblade and he could even possibly strain his body because he would be doing everything backwards. Differently than he normally would. Left handed beybladers are extremely rare. I myself have never met one before and I have done a complete searchon the B.B.A. network without finding any."

Starr's POV.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Rei and Kenny were talking.. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I tuned them out and focused on the battle. So far, I think we were pretty evenly matched. Apparently, so did Max.

"Draciel, go! Gravity control!" he called to his bit beast and began attacking my blade.

"Go, Charity! Angel gust!" I called. A giant flash of light filled up the area and then water filled the dish, It rushed in torrents and Charity swirled around, floating on the waves. Suddenly everything spun and it felt like she was being pulled into the vortex. Then she attacked with her angel gust. Strong winds pulled at our clothes and sucked the water into the air. I surprised Max by allowing my blade to be carried up high into the air.

"Reverse spin attack!" I yelled and Charity flew down, landing on top of Max's beyblade. Thanks to my first attack, the wind had sped up the rotation of my blade. Charity spun around, faster and faster, creating a small magnetic field. In normal polarity.

"Draciel. Try to shake her off." said Max. He tried moving, but I smiled and shook my head.

"Sorry Max. You're not getting away that easily.". My blade lifted off of his and spun directly behind it.

"Magnetic reversal!" I shouted. The tiny magnetic field I had created around Max's blade reversed polarity and his blade was repelled from mine. It sailed into the air before landing just outside the dish. I had WON!

Max looked stunned. He picked up his blade and then looked at me.

"Wow, Starr. That was amazing. Where did you learn to blade like that?" shock laced his voice. _' I wonder if I should answer that question.'_

'_You don't have to tell them Starr. They will learn eventually.' Charity's soft voice rang in my head._

'_Alright then. I'll tell them. Thanks Char. That was one of the toughest opponents I've ever faced. Bye'_

'_Goodbye.' she whispered before dematerializing back into her blade._

"Do you really want to know that?" I asked picking up my blade and putting it in my pocket.

" Good work, both of you. That was a pretty intense battle." Rei said.

"Yeah! I'm definitely going to register you a beyblader. In fact, I'm going to go do that right now." said Kenny before disappearing inside the dojo with his computer tucked safely under his arm.

"That was a great battle, Starr. You really have some skills in the dish." said Max, nodding his head up and down. "Whew. That was a pretty intense battle. Let's go inside and get something to eat."

"Max! Please. One Tyson is enough. We don't need two!" replied Rei laughing. We all started to walk inside but then Max stopped.

"Where did you learn to blade like that, Starr?" he repeated.

"Do you want to know?" I asked.

"Yes." he replied.

"Are you sure?" I asked. I really didn't know how he was going to take it.

"Yes." he said seriously.

"I learned from one of the best bladers in the world."

"Who's that?" Max asked.

"Kai." I said. "Kai Hiwatari."

**Ha, ha! I left you hanging. Now you have to review so I can start working on chapter 6. I feel sooooo... EVIL! Ha, ha, ha! I really need to practice my evil laugh, though. I haven't been so mean in a long time, not including this morning. I hoped you liked this chapter because the next one will be even better. Mwah, ha, ha. Was that better? Just joking. Bye bye until the next chappie! **


	6. a short lived half date

**I'm sooooo sorry it took so long for me to update. My grandparents are here from New York and they're staying for 13 days. Well, I kinda got in trouble because I commented on the weather. Where I am, it hasn't rained since before school ended. After they got into the car I was all like "Welcome to hell, guys." You should have seen the look my mom gave me. It was so funny. Anyways, here is the update. Also, if anyone has any ideas on pairings, my character included, let me know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own beyblades.**

**Chapter 6: A short-lived half-date**

Max's POV.

"Kai. Kai Hiwatari." answered Starr. Her calm grey eyes were filled with a seriousness that rivaled even Kai's.

"WHO?" I asked. I thought maybe my hearing was going. _'She couldn't have just said Kai's name, could she? How? When? Is it even possible? Is she lying? No. I don't think she is. Something in her eyes tells me that she isn't. I may be blonde and I may have unnaturally high sugar levels but I am not totally stupid. Whoa, Max! Calm down. You keep forgetting that Starr is new here. If I start bombarding her with questions, the small bond of trust that we share might be lost.'_

"Kai Hiwatari, silly. Are you deaf now?" asked Starr. Amusement shone in her eyes and I laughed.

"No. I'm not deaf, Starr. Just surprised that you know him. He's our team captain. Normally, he would be here right now making us run laps or something like that but I think he is taking care of some business. With him, we never know. He just disappears for a while and then comes back." I said.

Starr's POV.

'_Wow. That was a really wordy response. It wasn't the reaction I anticipated though. I wonder where Kai went. He's always been like that. Thinks he doesn't have to tell anyone where he's going. Just wait until he gets back here.'_

"Hey Starr? What did you say?" asked Rei walking outside again. "I only caught the edge of your conversation. Can you repeat that again?"

"Yeah. And hurry up because I'm hungry." said Tyson before stuffing half of a hero sandwich into his mouth and chewing noisily.

"Shut up Tyson. You're always hungry. Max asked me where I learned to blade like that and I told him that I learned from one of the best bladers in the world." I yelled at Tyson before explaining to the others.

"And?" asked Rei.

"I answered him." I stated.

"Who did you learn from?" he asked.

I sighed.

"Kai Hiwatari. Are you happy now?" I asked sarcastically. _'How much will it take to make them shut up? I'm not exactly Ms. Sunshine and all these questions are getting on my nerves.'_

"You know him?" asked Tyson, still chewing.

" I don't have to answer that question. I'm going for a walk. The next person who asks me a question is going to regret it, sorely." and with that I stalked off. I knew they were staring at me but I ignored them until I reached the street where I turned around and called, "Hey Max! You can come if you want to. Ice cream? My treat."

"Sure!" he turned and said a quick good bye before running up to join me. He waved and laughed while his blonde hair flew wildly in the wind.

"Starr! Max and sugar is not a good combination. They don't mix..." Rei's voice trailed off as we disappeared from view around the next block. It felt so good, so good to be free. To do whatever I wanted. And now I had Max to keep me company.

Max's POV.

'_This is a great chance to get to know Starr. I wonder if she knows I like ice cream_.' Max continues to brood on his thoughts until Starr laughed slightly.

"Huh? What did I do?" I asked, questioning Starr's sudden laughter.

"Nothing." she said. "You just looked so funny all caught up in your own thoughts I had to laugh. So, know any good ice cream places around here?"

"Well. There's Mr. Softy, Ice Creamery, Tastee's Ice Cream Bar..." and I proceeded to name about a million ice cream places.

"Ok." she said, laughing. "Which one is the closest?"

"That would be my favorite. Tastee's Ice Cream Bar is about three blocks from here. Can we go there?" I hopped up and down in excitement trying to make her laugh again. It worked.

"Are you always this hyper and silly?" she asked.

"Yep! I'm 99.9 sugar hyped." I smiled.

"And what's the other .1?"

"I haven't decided yet." Giggling, I reached over and teasingly tugged on her hair.

"Hey! Get back here!" she shouted, chasing after me.

Fifteen minutes later we reached Tastee's Ice Cream Bar, panting and out of breath. Eagerly we went inside and smelled the mouth-watering scent of ice cream. Walking up to the counter we stared at the rows and rows of neatly printed orders. I

"What do you want, Max?" Starr asked, turning to me.

"Triple fudge sundae!" I shouted out loud.

"Okay, okay. No need to yell. Here is some money. Can you order while I go find us a table.

Starr's POV.

A few minutes later, Max brought tour orders and we sat down at a blue table. Occasionally, wetook a bite of ice cream. He spoke.

"So, Starr. Tell me about your family. Were they nice?"

I stiffened. My parents was not a subject I really cared to discuss. Suddenly, I saw a shadow. As I turned around to follow the dark blur, it disappeared. The hairs on the back of my neck started to stand up. _'We need to get out of here. We're being followed . I can't let Max fall into danger. I have to protect him no matter what. I don't want what happened to me to happen to Max. The other's won't trust me anymore.'_

"Max. It's time to go." I ordered, cold as ice.

Max's POV.

I shivered. It felt like the room had dropped several degrees. _'What happened? She was warm and friendly like five seconds ago and now she's a completely different person. And why do we have to go? We just got here.'_

"Max. Let's go now." she grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to her.

"We're being watched, Max. We need to get out of here and fast." she whispered harshly in my ear.

"Ok. Let's go." I stood up with my half eaten sundae and looked at it sadly before throwing it into the trash. Starr did the same and we started to walk out when suddenly there was a loud BANG! Something whizzed by, shattering the glass door. The glass spewed everywhere, cutting my arms and legs. I looked to see if Starr was alright and I noticed she was holding her right shoulder. I gasped. Blood seeped down, turning her shirt red. A large chunk of glass protruded grotesquely from her arm.

"Starr! Are you okay?" I asked. "Starr?" I repeated when she didn't reply. She released her arm and pushed me behind her.

"Get back, Max." she said in an emotionless voice. I caught a glimpse of vacant grey eyes and shivered. What warmth was in the room dissipated as her empty toneless voice spoke again.

"You may have hurt me, father. But you will not hurt my friends. You want me back, daddy dearest, then you can come and try it, you filthy heartless bastard."

"Protecting your friends? What friends? You don't have friends. And I don't really think you have much of a choice now, do you." a rough voice came as a man stepped out from behind the service counter. Just then, I noticed he was the only one there._ 'How could that be? Did he know we would be here?'_

In his hand was a shiny black pistol, cocked and ready to fire.

"You'll come with me Starr. If you know what's good for you." the gun pointed to Starr.

"No! Screw you." she screamed loudly. Another bang. I covered my ears and shrank to the ground.

A heavy silence set over the whole place. Thud!

"Starr!" I cried. She was laying on the glass covered floor. Dark red blood gushed out of a bullet wound on her leg. Her eyes slid open in an odd half way. Her lips tinged purple and her skin grew paper white.

"Max. Get...get out of here." her voice was barely a whisper.

"But what about you?" I asked frantically.

"YOU! Get away from her now. I'll shoot you too." barked the man who was Starr's father.

Starr moaned and her eyes closed. _'This can't be happening again. I won't do it. I refuse!' _

"Go. Tell the others. Hurry." she whispered again.

I stood up to find the man staring at my face. Before I knew what was happening, he started punching me at a supernatural speed. Three blows to my head and two to my stomach. I sank to the ground and gasped in pain.

"Leave before I have to kill you." he threatened, reloading the gun and aiming it at my head.

"Okay. I'm going. Just don't hurt Starr." I stood up slowly and walked through the glass doors holding my stomach tightly.

'_I don't want to put her life at risk.' _I thought.

"That bitch doesn't deserve you." he said and bent down to pick up Starr. He grabbed her carelessly and threw her over his shoulder. He shoved me out of the way and jumped into a black van. Landing hard on the sidewalk, I scraped my elbow and my knee. A small amount of blood came from the cut and ran down my leg. I watched the van speed off and tried to get the license plate number before it rounded the curb.

'_Run, Max. I've got to run and tell the other's. they'll know what to do. I just hope we aren't to late to save her.' _I thought and started running as fast as I could back to the dojo. I ignored the pain in my chest and head and ran on.

Fifteen minutes later, I barged through Tyson's door into the house. Hot tears prickled my eyes and blurred my vision. Rei and Tyson ran into the room, hearing the noise of my crash.

"Max! What happened? Where's Starr?" questioned Rei worriedly. Tyson just stared for a moment and then said "What happened?" in a gentle voice unrecognizable as his.

"It's Starr. Her father was at the place we went to. He shot her and kid napped her. It's all my fault." I sobbed and then collapsed from exhaustion.

Kai's POV.

I had just walked into the room where Rei and Tyson were. I saw Max unconscious on the floor.

"What happened?" I questioned coldly.

"I don't know." said Rei. He picked up Max and placed him carefully on the nearby couch before continuing.

"Max ran in and said something about Starr being shot and kid napped."

I froze. _'Starr? It can't be. I thought she was dead. There is no way she could've survived a blast like that.'_

"Starr? Starr Esther Marie?" I asked. I had a horrible sinking feeling in my stomach.

"Yes. She said she knew you and trained with her. Is that true?" asked Tyson turning to face me. I could tell he was worried for her safety. Suddenly it hit me.

"I know why they took Starr." I said, ignoring his question.

"Why?" asked Rei, his golden eyes shining with unshed tears. He must have known somewhat about her past to be upset. I knew he just wanted to protect her because that was in his nature.

"Because Starr is the only one, other than myself, who can control Black Dranzer."

**I left it at another cliffie. Now everyone has to review so I can start writing the next chapter. Just joking. Nobody has to review unless they want to. Let me know what you think and if anyone has any ideas for the next few chapter's feel free to let me know. Thanks for reading. See you in the next chapter.**


	7. Starr, kidnapped

**Hello again and welcome to chapter 7 of My Sweet Nightmare. So many people reviewed my last chapter. Wow. I was really surprised. Thanks SO MUCH to EVERYONE. (Lots of cursing in this chapter.)**

**Miniri02: FIVE reviews! You are my most devoted fan. I worship you! And I LOVE sugar. I had some, but then I wanted to go on a diet, so now I eat it every OTHER hour. He he. Twitch.**

**Storm of intensity: That is the question. You'll find out later in the story, maybe this chapter.**

**Bladebreakers: I had to think of something interesting to wrap up the chapter. Kai'll explain more in this chapter. In fact, today he is going to be quite wordy. **

**crimsonskye06: Thanks a bunch. Have a cookie. I stole them from the bakery and the police caught me so I threw cookies at them. And now I'm in the psyche ward again.**

**Storms-winter: Well, here you go. And have a cookie while your at it. Munchies are always good when your reading.**

**Atem's Queen of the Nile: That's alright. Here is the next chapter. Please take a cookie and then find your seat. **

**Well, now that I'm finished with those, it's time to set up the poles. It's pairing time everyone. Pick your favorite pair or send in on of your own. Right now, the poles are as follows: **

**Tala and Starr: 0 votes. (If I had to pick, I'd pick this one)**

**Rei and Starr: 1 vote.**

**Max and Starr: 0 votes.**

**Tyson and Starr: 0 votes.**

**Kai and Starr: 0 votes.**

** note since this story will probably end up in multiple pairings any boy/boy must be referred to me by email. Sorry for the inconvenience! And also. I now have a C2 up and am looking for people to subscribe and recruit as staff members. Any volunteers will be much appreciated. Now, on with the story! **

**Oops! Almost forgot the disclaimer. I, Bottlecaps, do not own beyblades and therefor cannot be sued. Now on with the story.**

**Oh, and fyi, my bff is here and she's on crack right now. She decided to help me with this story and I really don't know how snorting fine white powder up her nose is considered helping, but oh well. J/k.**

**Chapter 7: communication**

**Last time: **"Starr is the only one, other than myself, who can control Black Dranzer."

Kai's POV.

"What?" asked Rei incredulously. "You mean that she can control one of the worlds most destructive bit beasts? But how? And when? And why?"

"You surprise me, Rei. I thought you would've known by now. I'm surprised Starr hasn't told you. But then again, you ARE talking to a person who trained with me in the Abbey." I said coldly. _'Starr, you haven't changed a bit. Now I only hope we can save you before the past repeats itself again.'_

"Well then. Perhaps that means you should explain it to us." came a surprisingly icy tone from Rei.

"We have no time!" I hissed back. Rei looked at me strangely, something burning intensely in his shiny golden depths.

I knew he was worried about Starr. It was in his nature to protect her, but I suspected something else. I knew I was just going to have to wait and see if I was correct.

A groan came from the living room and everyone, including me rushed inside. Max was standing up, swaying and wobbling as he tried to regain his balance.

"Max. You shouldn't be walking yet, let alone standing!" exclaimed Tyson and helped him back to the couch.

"Thanks, Tyson." Max sighed, a troubled expression crossing his face. "We should call the police so they can find Starr."

"I agree with Max. We have to hurry too." said Rei, forcing himself to be calm.

"Me three. We can't just all stand around and do nothing." agreed Tyson.

"I'll take care of it." I said monotonously and grabbed the telephone. Dialing 911 was the hardest thing I think I've ever done.

**Starr's POV.**

Pain. Pain is something very familiar to me. I've lived my entire with it, I've grown up with it. If I wanted, I could embrace it as my best friend. Instead I choose to fight it, which is silly because now I know that you can never win. My efforts were futile. I tried to stand up but the world exploded in an array of colors.

'_Starr! Starr! Answer me Starr. Are you okay?' Charity's soft voice soothed my mind._

'_Charity.' I whispered. I couldn't move without some part of my body hurting. Warm trickles of blood cascaded down my leg followed by a powerful burning tingly sensation in my body._

'_Don't worry Starr. The others will rescue you. Fight it until then, you have to fight the darkness.' _

'_To the bitter end.' I muttered. All of a sudden I couldn't breathe. It felt like someone had grabbed my stomach and turned it inside-out. I twisted my head, coughed, and threw up violently onto the floor._

'_You better come for me, guys.' I thought, thinking of Rei, Tyson, Max, and Kai. And then I was flying somewhere between the water and sky. As I whirled around unable to control myself, they joined together, and I could not tell the difference. I collided with something soft and relaxed, falling into a deep sleep. I heard a voice talking, but it made no sense so I ignored it._

_**Charity's POV.**_

'_Starr. I'm going to try to contact one of your friends bit beasts. Just hang on until then.' I told her._

_I spread my mind and searched for Rei or his bit beast. Out of all of them, Drigger and Rei are the one I trust the most. I felt comfortable around them. I sent it towards Rei because I knew it took less energy to contact a human than it did a bit beast. I would still be able to watch over Starr instead of being nearly incapacitated._

**Rei's POV.**

I sat on the couch listlessly. _'Starr. Please be alright. Please be alright.'_ The police had done an entire search and found nothing. They had sent in the forensics' team who were now analyzing the scene. Suddenly, pressure began to build inside my head and a white flash of heat coursed throughout my body. I yelped, leaning over to put my head in my lap.

"Rei! What's wrong?" asked Tyson loudly. I cringed and pulled away from him, breathing deeply. My vision fogged and then I heard a voice.

'_Rei! This is Charity. You need to come save Starr.'_

'_Charity?'_

'_Starr's bit beast. Please, you have to save her or else she will die. I can't stay long because I'm using her life energy.' she spoke urgently._

'_Okay! Where is she?' I asked, trying to ignore the growing pain inside my head._

' _Warehouse off old road. Look for red sign.' she whispered and then left._

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Rei! Rei! Are you okay? Talk to me." Tyson shook me and I stood up shakily. Kai was looking at me curiously.

"Starr's bit beast contacted me. She says they are in an warehouse off an old road. To look for a red sign."

"Bit beasts are talking to you? Rei, are you feeling okay?" Tyson asked.

"Shut up, Tyson. We have to go rescue Starr." I brushed him off angrily.

"Don't you think it's a bit dangerous?" Tyson continued.

"Lets go." interrupted Kai. He nodded at me silently and Tyson stared at him. I shook off the last waves of dizziness and followed Kai outside. Tyson trailed behind me, carrying a sleeping Max.

"Leave him here Tyson. In his state he won't be able to do anything helpful." Kai stated.

"No! He wouldn't want to be let out of this." Tyson argued.

"Tyson." he warned.

"I can help." came Max's sleepy voice.

"Maxie!" Tyson grinned and set him down. He stood weakly, his pale face shining in the glow of a street light.

"Thanks, Tyson."

"Lets go. We haven't got all night." Kai demanded crossly. He led us to a silver Mercedes parked outside.

"You have a car?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Silence was my only reply as we each opened a door and got inside. Tyson sat in the back with Max who kept looking like he was going to throw up. I sat next to Kai in the front. I watched hin start the car and then floor the gas pedal. Tires squealed and we lurched forward. I nearly smacked my head on the dashboard.

"You might want to buckle up." he smirked to himself.

"You can drive?" Tyson questioned Kai, who said nothing.

"You call this driving?" Max joked but then covered his mouth.

"Here." Kai expertly maneuvered his car though the crowded streets while reaching back to hand Max a bag.

He started to thank him but then shoved his face to the bag and hurled. Tyson rubbed Max's back while his stomach continued to empty itself of any contents. Once he was finished, Max groaned and wiped his mouth.

"I hate being carsick." Max moaned.

"Puke on my seats and you die." Kai said, jerking the steering wheel to the right to avoid hitting several cars.

Max laughed halfheartedly and then grabbed the bag again.

"How do you know where we're even going?" Tyson asked timidly, afraid of Kai's wrath as well his driving skills.

"There is only one abandoned warehouse around here that I know of." Kai clipped cooly. "And Starr and I were both trained in it."

The silent ride was punctuated by sounds of a crinkling bag and occasional moans from Max. I looked around and realized that we were already at the outskirts of Bey City. I only worried about how much longer we had to go.

**Starr's POV.**

"Starr? Starr? Can you hear me? Wake up." a soft voice whispered into my ear. I felt myself being shaken and I opened an eye. I saw a fuzzy outline of a boy with short, messy red hair. My vision blurred even worse and I let out a soft moan. I closed my eye and then opened both again. This time the boy was in my face and I freaked. I weakly shoved away from him.

"Stay away form me, bastard." I swore.

"That isn't any way to greet an old friend, now is it?" he chuckled and I recognized the voice.

"Tala." I said, relieved.

"The one and only." he smiled but his cerulean blue eyes held worry in them. He stared and the large piece of glass in my shoulder.

"This is going to hurt. A lot." Tala reached over and yanked out the shard. A fire ignited in my arm and spread all the way down to my arm.

"Ow!" I yelled. "Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shit!" I finally cursed. Bringing my arm up to my shoulder, I felt slimy blood and pulled my fingers away covered in red.

I heard a tearing sound and realized that Tala was pulling strips of cloth off of his shirt sleeve. Wadding one up, he pressed it against my arm until the bleeding stopped. He took to more and gingerly bandaged my arm. I winced once or twice, but he only made comforting noises and finished. He moved on to the bullet wound in my leg.

Tala never treated me coldly. He protected me in the place we knew as living hell until I learned to stand on my own two feet. I felt myself drifting back to the memories of my childhood and I did nothing to stop them. Sighing, I drifted off into a heavy, nightmarish sleep.

**Tala's POV.**

I heard Starr sigh and glanced at her sleeping form. Dried blood stuck to my hands and I wiped it off as best as I could. I hate blood and yet I see it every day in this damned place. She tossed and turned restlessly. Sweat formed on her forehead and I knew she had a fever. I did the only thing I could think of. I pushed her towards the wall and slipped underneath the covers. My body heat warmed her, and she stopped moving. I forced myself to stay awake in case her condition worsened.

'_I missed you Starr. I really did.' _I heard her shift and roll closer towards me. _'Something tells me this is going to be a long, long night.'_

**AHHHHHHHHH! I freakin hate myself.! This chapter sucked and I got nowhere, I tell you. Nowhere!Well, I'm really sorry because I feel like I let everybody down. Wah! starts banging head into wall**

**Rei: someone push the review button so she'll stop hurting herself.**

**Kai: I don't care. Let her do that. It's actually kind of amusing.**

**Bottlecaps: You are so mean Kai.**

**Kai: I know. smirks**

**Bottlecaps: Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.**

**Kai: Oh, shut up already. You're getting on my nerves.**

**Tyson: Anybody for lunch?**

**Rei: Has anybody seen Max?**

**Max: Be QUIET! **

**Everyone: ...**


	8. Rescue Efforts and Fate

**Hey guys. All of your reviews made me feel much better. Thanks so much everyone. Right now the poles are tied so I'm going to have to pick a pairing. Oh, and I can't remember what color Boris's hair is so it's going to be purple. Sorry if it's wrong. Now for the poles and the replies.**

**Rei and Starr: 2 votes.**

**Max and Starr: 0 votes.**

**Tala and Starr: 2 votes.**

**Kai and Starr: ½ a vote. Friendship.**

**Tyson and Starr: 0 votes.**

**Stormy winter: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Here is the next chapter.**

**Omia: Me too! Me too! And now it is tied so I must chose. This is going to be hard. Well, here is the next chappie! **

**CrimsonSkye06: Well, guess what? I just updated. Ha ha ha! Sugar can do the most WONDERFUL things!**

**Skarmory: Thank you so much. Really. I didn't think I could write another chapter but then you reviewed so this is for you and everyone who liked my last chappie.**

**Storm of Insanity: That is what I am going to do so feel special! I do because this was my second choice for a pairing. Enjoy.**

**Atem's Queen of the Nile: I am very glad that you liked my last chapter and I hope you like this chapter too. The little conversation is for you.**

**Bottlecaps: I love that pairing! I do, I do, I do!**

**Kai: Are you getting married?**

**Bottlecaps: Yep!**

**Kai: Who is the unlucky victim?**

**Bottlecaps: You!**

**Kai: Oh shit. **

**Bladebreakers: I just updated. Go me! Go me! Sugar is awesome!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own beyblades.**

**Chapter 8: Rescue Efforts and Fate.**

**Tala's POV.**

Someone banged on the bars of the cell and I woke up immediately. My first thought was to protect Starr and I glanced over to where she was. Her skin was pale and beads of sweat trickled down her face.

"Wake up, bitch." a man's voice echoed off the walls. I glared at him, recognizing short purple hair.

"Touch her and you'll wish you hadn't, Boris." I growled, standing in front of Starr's body.

I saw a flash of metal but before I could move out of the way, waves of electricity passed through my body.

"Starr!" I said loudly, trying to warn her of the danger she was in. I fought the pain as it flowed through my body, but the world escaped into nothingness.

**Starr's POV.**

I heard Tala yell to me, but my body was fogged with sleep. I heard a rustling sound and I opened my eyes to see...

"Daddy." I whispered in fear. He lifted me up with one hand by the front of my shirt.

"This seems so..." he paused for a dramatic effect. "Familiar."

"Shut up!" I screamed, Adrenaline raced through my veins, snapping me back to reality instantly. I struggled, kicking and hitting with my uninjured arm and leg.

"Don't you talk to me like that." Boris sneered threateningly and landed a heavy slap across my cheek with his meaty hand.

Red hot pain brought tears to my eyes but I fought them back. Staring at him defiantly, I spit in his face.

"Bitch!"he howled and threw me to the cell wall. I got up, wincing as the old wound on my shoulder reopened. Blood stained the homemade bandage dark red but I ignored the pain.

"What do you want from me?" I asked him fearfully.

"You know what I want." he said and my eyes widened in realization. Memories flashed.

"No." I whispered, horror struck.

"Yes." an evil glint in his eyes ignited terror in my stomach. He took out a gun from his pocket and pointed it at my head.

"Let's go." he demanded, motioning towards the door. I had no choice but to obey. If I ran, I would be killed.

Midnight blue carpet surrounded by black walls cast a deathly aura. Our footsteps were cushioned by the murky blueness and I had the strangest sensation, almost like we were walking on the bottom of the ocean.

"In here." he ordered me into an elevator and pushed a red button. I felt the floor beneath me descend. When we stopped and the doors opened, Boris pushed the gun to my head. I walked out stiffly, fearing the cold solid metal that rested gently against my scalp. I shivered slightly and knew he was smiling.

I recognized where we were going and it took every last ounce of me not to scream. Two steel doors opened automatically and admitted us into what looked like a glass walled room. Anyone with a brain would've known it wasn't. A single, giant beyblade stadium filled the floor. I glanced upward and could barely see the ceiling. It stretched on and on, making me dizzy. I shook my head and stared at the beydish.

"You have half an hour to prepare." Boris said with eagerness in his voice as he shut and bolted the door behind me. I knew he wanted to watch me suffer. And I was going to suffer immensely.

**Kai's POV.**

"Almost there." I said calmly, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that had settled over us all. Max had finally stopped throwing up, Tyson was staring quietly out of the window, and Rei sat in the seat.

"Are you worried?" I whispered to him lowly, so the others would not here.

"Yes." he replied. _'So he does know what I mean.'_

"It will be fine." I reassured him.

"Strange coming from you." a small smile lit up his face before drowning in a sea of concern.

I pulled the car to a stop among the side of the road and turned it off silently. Tyson and Max looked up.

"Here?" Max asked weakly.

"Yes." I said and I heard him sigh in relief.

"Now, does everybody remember the plan?" I asked.

Several silent nods followed and we slipped stealthily behind a thick tree trunk. The warehouse that Rei had described was surrounded by a concrete wall, 8 feet tall and at least 16 inches thick. A steel, voice-activated gate stood in the front. _'Abandoned my ass.' _I thought.

"Now for some fun." I said and pulled out my keys. I pressed a button and heard the alarm click on. Tyson found a small rock and threw it at my car. The alarm sounded and as I predicted, several guards ran to the gate, opened it, and searched for the location of the sound.

"Follow." I whispered once the guards had disappeared out of view and we ran soundlessly past the gate before it could shut.

The entrance was secured by a password lock.

"Shit." someone swore. Tyson, Rei, and I turned to stare at Max. He blushed deeply.

"Sorry." he mumbled.

Just then the doors slid open. Tyson blinked. Rei blinked. I blinked.

"How did you know the password?" Tyson asked, once the doors closed behind us.

"I didn't." Max blushed even deeper.

"Never mind that. Security video-cameras."

"Taken care of." Tyson whispered and readied his launcher. Silently, he aimed at the wires and pulled the ripcord.

Several sparks flew as a small blur hit its mark. Dragoon landed silently on the floor next to Tyson's foot and continue to spin. We continued to walk up the hallway, destroying the video-cameras further down.

"This is too easy." I said. "They already know we're here."

"How?" Rei asked.

I was silent, unwilling to admit I didn't know. I saw an elevator button on the wall to the left of an elevator.

"They're waiting for us." I said, and stepped into the elevator. "You need to leave. Wait outside. If there are any guards, you know what to do. Rei, come with me." I put my hand out to silence the questions I knew were coming from Max and Tyson.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway and I turned to see their retreating forms. Rei followed me as the doors closed.

"Down is the only way to go, so that's where we're going." said Rei and pushed the button.

'_I hope you're ready for this Rei.' _I thought as the elevator descended.

**Starr's POV.**

I heard a tapping on the "glass" and looked. Boris was pointing at his watching and making a signal with his fingers.

"6 minutes left." I muttered to myself. I couldn't cry because I was too scared to do anything. Memories and thought flashed back and forth inside my mind. _'Ignorance truly is bliss.' _

"Oh Starr. It seems like your little friends did come to save you after all." a mechanical voice interrupted.

A large holographic screen hovered several feet in front of me. Voltaire Hiwatari sat at his desk, hands folded. Deep hatred flared inside me, wanting to escape. My hands balled into fists.

"That's good. Accept the anger! Embrace it! Make it obey you!" He laughed.

I tried to fight it, but the sound of his laughter disgusted me.

"They should be arriving any minute now. Why don't you show them your power, hmm?" Voltaire smiled and touched something on his desk. A panel opened in the wall, revealing a small black box.

"You can't fight it Starr. You know what you want to do and you will." he laughed again. A cold, cruel, amused laughter.

It felt like time itself had stopped. I walked up to the box and opened it. A pitch black beyblade glowed and I could feel the dark power oozing from it. So tantalizing. So strong. I reached out and grasped the beyblade.

"Black Dranzer." I whispered as the dark power flooded through me.

"She missed you for so long, Starr." Voltaire said and the hologram dematerialized.

Power surged through my veins and I shivered in delight. _'How could I have been so stupid as to turn this down?' _

I sensed the others coming and turned to face the direction in which they were coming. A loud explosion sounded and thick dust spewed into the air. Two beyblades spun on the ground and then returned to their owners as they stepped over the rubble.

"Starr!" Rei shouted and started to run towards me. Kai grabbed Rei's shoulder and pulled him back. Crimson eyes narrowed as he spoke.

"She isn't the same, Rei. If you want to save her, we're going to have to battle her." he said.

"That's right." I laughed cruelly. "The Starr you knew is gone. And now you have to fight me."

Golden eyes met crimson, and both met my gaze.

"You know what we have to do." Kai said, without looking away.

"Yeah." Rei tightened his grip on his launcher and Kai pulled his out.

We approached the stadium simultaneously. Launchers ready, fierce expressions crossed both faces of my opponents. At the same time, we all spoke.

"Three. Two. One. Let it RIP!"

**How is that for a cliffhanger? I can't believe I updated two chapters in one week. That is just, wow. It took me a while, but I sat down and then idea after idea came to me. Only a few more chapters to go. I hope you liked this one. Please review because I need one more vote for a tie-breaker. Tala or Rei?**


	9. Battle Royale

**I'm sorry this took so long to update. For some strange reason, this website kept forgetting thatI logged in and it refused to let me update my stories. I have decided to rewrite this chapter because I didn't like the way it turned out. I hated it, I hated it, I hated it. I think I've made my point. Flames are accepted, but please, if you're going to flame me, at least login. I'm not going to do anything about it. Small Warning: there will be some... colorful language in this chapter. (A.k.a.: Swearing ) **

**To everyone who reviewed: Thank you so very much for reviewing. I never imagined that so many people would like it. Oh, and by the way. Here's a question for all you dedicated readers. Should there be a sequel to this fanfic? **

**Disclaimer: The only things I own in this fanfic are the plot and Starr.**

**Chapter 9: Battle Royale.**

"Three. Two. One. Let it RIP!"

Rei's POV.

Three beyblades landed in the dish. Kai's, mine, and Starr's. They spun around so fast that even to my half neko-jin eyes, they looked like blurs. _'Why Starr? What did she ever do to deserve this? I...I don't think I can do this.' _my thoughts repeated over and over. _'They're using her.'_ It made my blood boil. I knew I didn't like her as just a friend. I loved her.

I saw Kai out of the corner of my eye. He had this look of pure determination on his face. The only other time I had ever seen him like that was he had beybattled either Brooklyn and Tyson. A painful expression crossed his face before disappearing. He didn't want to fight against her either. I wasn't alone. I was lost in my thoughts until a voice yelled "Pay attention!"

Kai's unexpected warning scared me, and I barely managed to avoid a black and silver beyblade as it rushed towards Drigger. A plume of dust rose into the air when the blade made contact with the concrete side. It cleared, revealing a huge jagged hole in the dish.

"Starr. Why are you doing this?" I asked her.

"You can't win." she said mechanically. I could see the struggle going on in her eyes. I almost couldn't recognize her; they were so dark and empty. It scared me all the way down to my heart. She was a stranger, struggling for control of her own body.

"Starr, please. I don't want to do this." I said.

"If you want to help her than you have to fight her, Rei. Nothing else will work." Kai said. He attacked with Dranzer, but his blade only bounced back from Starr's. Surprise showed clearly behind his ruby eyes, but he hid it well.

"Together." he mouthed. I nodded. I knew it might not work, but I would do anything as long as she returned to normal.

"Drigger! Dranzer! Attack!" we yelled. The room suddenly darkened, and fear made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. A purple glow emitted from her beyblade and surrounded her. Her eyes flashed red and she held out a hand.

"Black Dranzer." she spoke in a monotonous voice. The summoned bit beast made it's appearance gracefully in all of it's chaotic wrath. It shrieked and flapped its wings, beating a wall of heat and ashes towards us.

A gust of fire hit Kai's beyblade. I could see him gritting his teeth. Then I witnessed something I never thought he would do.

"Dranzer. Attack."

His bit beast emerged, screaming a cry of rage and fury at its darker copy. She flew towards it and his beyblade collided with Starr's. They ground together violently, sending off blue shock waves. Starr smiled grimly.

"Come on, Rei. Don't you want to blade with me?" she questioned. My hands clenched into fists by my sides. She saw this and smirked.

"Rei. I could use some help, damn it." Kai grunted as he slammed his blade against hers.

I nodded my head. _'Starr. I don't want to do this but I have no choice.' _I thought.

"Drigger!"

My white tiger emerged from his home, growling angrily. The shock waves almost knocked him over but he braced himself against impact. I bit my lip, tasting salt and sweet, metallic blood. The salt was from the tears that were flowing freely down my face.

"Rogue Tiger Claw!" Drigger raced towards the black phoenix. He yelped as a clawed foot struck out and broke off a piece of his front armor. Blood from the wound stained the ground, turning the beydish into a slippery mess.

He didn't give up. He attacked her blade over and over again, but it seemed to have no effect. I could see bits of the blade flying off. _'How much longer can Drigger stand the pain?'_

"Black Dranzer. Pyro Twister."

**Kai's POV.**

'_Oh, shit. Not that! Anything but that. Please, please. There's no way Rei can stand up to an attack like that.' _

"Rei! Back off. Get as far away from Starr's blade as you can. Stand behind me. Now!" I yelled. I could already see it forming in my mind's eye.

"What? Why?" he asked.

"Don't question me. Get over here NOW!" I yelled again. I watched as Starr's blade began to spin in an unbelievably small circle.

Rei ran behind me, pulling back Drigger until it rested on the very edge of the dish.

"What's going on Kai?" he asked. I noticed the tear-streaks down his face but said nothing.

"Shut up and brace yourself. You better be ready to fight this battle, because I might not be able to help after this." I whispered lowly. He froze, and then shook his head slowly. His eyes held fear, but also curiosity.

I turned back to watching Starr's blade. It started to glow a dark red and small flames formed around the edge. It spun faster and faster, gaining momentum. The flames grew higher and higher. They touched the ceiling, licking it as if it were a hungry monster. _'Which it is.' _I reminded myself.

The red flames turned a bluish green at the top. I knew those flames were hot, well over a thousand degrees.

"Dranzer. Pyro Twister." I called to my phoenix. She shrieked softly, asking me if I really wanted to do this.

"No questions, Dranzer. Take what you need and go." I told her. She spread her wings out and I felt energy being taken from my body. I felt slightly dizzy, but I ignored it and kept myself focused on my beyblade. She began to spin faster and faster. It glowed and flames leaped out of my blade, flaring brightly. They touched the ceiling.

"Go!" Starr yelled. The inferno swirled about, creating a tornado of fire. It rushed towards Dranzer.

"Dranzer." I commanded her.

**Rei's POV.**

I watched as the two gigantic walls of fire pushed against each other. Shock waves cracked the dish, disintegrating They shoved each other back and forth. A flash of light pierced my eyes. I felt a massive wave of heat spread across my body. Wind shook the stadium and I felt myself being lifted off of the ground. My back met the concrete wall. Pain shot through me into my right arm.

A roaring sound told me that the entire stadium was falling apart. The wind stopped and I opened my eyes. Kai was still standing, but smoke drifted up from his clothes. He turned to me. I saw him nod his head and his eyes closed wearily. He fell to the ground, unmoving.

"Kai!" I yelled. I walked slowly towards him, unable to go faster because of the pain in my back and arm. I already knew that my arm was broken. I gritted my teeth and bent down to examine his injuries. Burn marks covered his face, shoulders, and arms. Most of them looked very severe. Kai's ragged breathing was the only sign that he was even alive.

I saw my blade, or rather, what was left of my blade laying on the ground. I picked it up. The attack ring and the bit chip were the only thing left. _'Thank God, Drigger. You're safe.'_

"Rei. I'm sorry."

I whirled around to see Starr. She looked at me with steel grey eyes. They were full of tears. Burns also covered her face and hands, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She nodded wordlessly. "It's my fault, isn't it?" she asked, coming to stand beside me.

"Listen to me. It was not your fault. There was nothing you could've done." I grabbed her shoulders and shook her, mindful of her injuries. The tears spilled, coming faster and faster.

"Starr?"

"Yes, Rei."

"I... I like you. I like you...a lot." I admitted, blushing hotly. She looked at me.

"Really?" she asked.

"What I meant to say was...I love you, Starr."

"I love you too." she whispered. I felt so happy I could burst. We had won.

We stood there, looking at each other. I reached up my left hand and touched her cheek. Suddenly, she hugged me tightly. She tilted her face towards me and her lips tickled mine. Slowly, softly, I kissed her. She kissed me back.

"Aww, isn't this cute."

We pulled away from each other and looked down. Kai was sitting up, coughing and attempting to smile at the same time.

"Kai!" Starr groaned. Just then, the building began to shake.

"This place is going to collapse on us if we don't get out of here soon." I said.

"Let's go. Kai. Do you think you can walk?" she asked him. She reached out a hand but he didn't take it.

"No, I can't." he muttered unhappily.

"I'll carry you." said Starr. She reached down and turned her back towards him. He winced as she moved his arms into the proper position. She stood up, shifting his legs under her arms for a better grip.

"That hurt." he said tightly.

"It would probably hurt less if you stopped talking." Starr suggested. Kai merely growled before falling asleep, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Rei. Are you hurt in any way?" she asked, turning to me.

"I know my arm is broken and my back feels funny." I admitted. "I can't walk very fast."

"Well, let's try to go as fast as we can because otherwise, we'll end up pancakes." she started walking slowly, making sure I could keep up with her. Each step sent a ricochet of pain up my back, but said nothing. It would've been more for her to worry about.

The rumbling started again, louder this time, and dust billowed in the air. I heard a sound behind me and turned to see a chunk of concrete come crashing down.

"RUN!" I yelled to Starr. She and I started to run. I tried to keep up but fell further and further behind.

"Rei! Come one. You can make it!" I heard Starr shout. I felt so tired, I just wanted to collapse. My surroundings blurred but I kept placing one foot in front of the other. I tripped and fell forwards into something soft and warm. My vision caught a glimpse of red, and then the tiredness overwhelmed me, dragging me into the darkness of unconsciousness.

**Finally! I finished the entire chapter. I liked this one much, much better. Everyone gets one guess on what the red thing belongs to. I hope you liked this version better than the other one. I'm going to go take a nap now. Goodnight (or technically good morning for me).**


	10. Surprises Times Two

**Okay. I did a very blonde thing and accidently deleted the entire chapter so now I have to rewrite the whole thing all over again. It is so frustrating doing this. And being the genius I am, I also deleted all of my review emails. Everything seems to go wrong, no matter what I do. But that's life. It goes on, wether I like it or not. I'm updating to keep my mind away from everything. Hope you like this chapter. (Two new characters will be introduced.)**

**To everyone who reviewed: thank you so much for your support. You are so kind and thoughtful and I really appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not and will not ever own beyblades.**

**Before you read this chapter, I have a small favor to ask everyone. I have noticed that most of the people who put this fanfic on their favorites list also put it on their author alert list. Why? It doesn't make any sense to me at all and I would appreciate it if those people could please email me.**

**Chapter 10: Surprises Times Two.**

**Starr's POV.**

I yelled as I saw Rei falling farther and farther behind. He couldn't keep up. I watched as a huge chunk of concrete broke off of the ceiling. As he fell, it seemed like it was happening in slow motion. Right before the chunk was about to crash down on his head, something pushed him out of the way. I saw red hair and felt a smile of relief cross my face.

"Tala!" I yelled gratefully. He caught Rei and ran, carrying him on his back. He reached me, breathless and panting.

"So you didn't forget about me then." Tala said, huffing a bit. He shifted Rei on his back slightly.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked him.

"I don't know. We need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible. What about Kai?"

Kai stirred at the mention of his name. He looked up wearily.

"I'm fine." he muttered and fell back asleep. Tala chuckled softly. We ran to the exit. I saw Max and Tyson waiting for us. Worried expressions filled their faces.

"Max! Tyson!" I yelled. They ran towards me.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. But Rei and Kai aren't. We need to get them to a hospit..."

I was interrupted as the place exploded. Everyone was thrown painfully from the impact. I landed hard on my side, dropping Kai and injuring my right shoulder. Flames shot into the heavens like they wanted to burn down the sky itself. Swirling pain filled my head and led me through a long tunnel of black light.

**Kai's POV.**

I felt the ground beneath me. I opened my eyes cautiously. My surroundings were so bright, it seemed surreal. I reached one hand into my pocket. Fighting the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm me, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed 911. I waited until I heard a woman's voice answer.

"Hello. 911 emergency hotline. What is your problem?"

"Explosion...436 Black Powder Dr...help..." I managed out painfully. I turned the phone off and lay still, trying to stay awake. Finally, in the far corner of my mind, I heard sirens in the distance.

'_Good. They found us.' _I thought and finally gave in to the warm embrace of sleep.

**Rei's POV.**

I heard someone calling my name. I didn't know who it was, but I recognized the voice.

"Mom?" I asked. The question echoed inside my head.

"Rei. Open your eyes. You need to wake up."

It wasn't until then that I realized my eyes had been tightly shut. I opened them slightly. A hazy figure stood above me. I opened my eyes the rest of the way.

"Mom...but I thought you were..."

"Hush. Everything is going to be fine. You need to wake up. There are people on this worldneed you. It isn't time for you to die yet."

"Mom..." I whispered softly. The tears came, and I let them fall. Memories haunted my mind. Pictures of my mother played over and over again. She was lying in a hospital bed, her skin as pale and white as the bed sheets. Black hair fanned out behind her while the monotonous drip of the iv blended into the background noise.

I remembered the day I went after school, when I walked into your room and it was empty. A nurse came in and told me she had passed away silently the night before. I cried, empty, broken, and alone for the first time in five years. I was only six when she passed away. I had no other living relatives so I packed my bags and traveled to a village far from the mountains. I had learned form my mother that orphans often went there, so I figured that I would belong. Sure enough, I fit in. It took me a while to get to know everyone in the village, but beyblading helped. Some kids had beyblades, and that is how I met my future teammates.

"Take care of Starr. Watch out for her. Only you can give her what she needs. Wake up, Rei."

my mother spoke and faded away.

"Mom!" I yelled. I snapped wide awake, panting heavily. My eyes shot open and they were greeted by darkness. _'What?' _I thought and tried to rub my eyes. A searing pain slid up my arm into my shoulder.

"Ow!" I yelled.

"Its broken. I wouldn't try to move it if I were you." said a voice.

I turned my head in the direction of the voice. I saw a young girl standing there, holding a neon green balloon. She smiled and giggled.

"Who are you?" I asked as politely as I could.

"Blue." she replied. Just then the door opened and in came a little boy. He came up next to her. The similarity between them was...amazing, to say the least.

They both shared the same hair color, height, and dimples. The only difference beside clothing were their eye colors. The boy had greyish blue eyes while Blue's were a faded misty green. So faded they looked almost white and so light they reminded me of a flower bud just starting to grow.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you. My name is Skye What's your's?" said the boy.

"Rei. Are you by any chance related? You look very alike." I answered slowly.

"Yes. We're twins." they said in unison. I blinked twice and grinned. My memory decided to kick in and I remembered Starr and Kai.

"Do you know what happened to Starr and Kai?" I asked frantically. I sat up and my head started spinning. I lay back down, trying to stop the swirling room.

"You know Starr?" Skye asked slowly.

"Yeah. She and I...met a while back. Why?" I asked.

"We know her too. She's on the same floor you're on. She was still unconscious when we visited her so she doesn't know we're here. We could take her to you if you want. And Kai's in the intensive care unit being treated for burns." Skye and Blue finished together breathlessly.

"Please." I said.

"Sure. Hold on." said Skye and he walked out the door. A minute later he returned with the wheelchair and tapped Blue's shoulder gently one time. She turned to face him and stretched both hands out. He gave her the wheelchair and pushing it in front of her, she walked to my bed. It bumped against the bottom railing and she stopped immediately. She placed her hand out on my wrist and moved it down to my arm. She grabbed it with surprising strength and pulled cautiously.

"Get in the wheelchair." she said. She switched to my right arm, which was in a cast and held it carefully while I swung my legs over the bed and put one foot on the floor.

"Cold!" I yelped. She giggled and grabbed me around the waist. I stood up, shaking, and sat down in the chair.

"I'm in. Thank's Blue." I said. Her behavior was a little strange and although I puzzled over it, I didn't mention anything. She turned the wheelchair around and stopped. Skye walked next to her and tapped her on the shoulder twice. She nodded her head and he placed an arm around her neck. They started to push me together out of the room.

As we came into the hallway I was blasted by cold air. I shivered slightly and hugged the flimsy hospital nightgown to me for all it was worth. We turned left and the end of the hallway and right after three doors down.

"Room 111. This is where Starr is. Be quiet because she might be sleeping." Skye said and pushed the door open.

Starr sat propped up against her bed by several enormous pillows. She looked up when we entered and dropped the pencil she was holding.

"Rei!" she yelled and started crying. In one swift motion she was hugging me tightly.

"Starr...rib...arm...watch." I gasped painfully as fire burned into my side and up my arms. Instantly she stepped away.

"I'm sorry, Rei. This is all my fault." she said and bit her lip.

I took her by the shoulder with my one good arm and shook gently, forcing her to meet my face.

"Listen to me, Starr. It is not you're fault. None of this was your fault." I said sternly.

"Thanks, Rei." she buried her head into my nightgown and sobbed quietly.

"Rei?" she asked quietly.

"What is it."

"Promise you'll always be here for me. Promise me you won't ever go away and leave me all alone."

"I promise." I said and hugged her to me as tightly as I could. We were interrupted by a few giggles coming from outside the room. She raised her head from my lap and looked out of the room. Beyond the walls, two giggling, bubbling, and happy children poked their heads into the room.

"Hi, Starr. Do you remember us?" the boy named Skye asked and stepped into the room. Blue followed shortly after him, her arm just barely brushing her brother's left shoulder.

"Skye..." she gasped softly. "Blue..."

Tears filled her eyes and once again traced down the freshly dried trails. She sobbed loudly and ran to them. She bent down and hugged them tightly to her chest.

"Starry. We never thought we would see you again!" they exclaimed simultaneously. Starr released them and looked at Blue strangely. I saw Blue hold out her right hand towards Starr. Starr touched it and made several small quick motion on the inside of her palm. Blue smiled brightly and hugged Starr.

"Starr?" I finally asked. "Do you know Skye and Blue?"

She turned around to face me.

"Of course I know them." she said. "They're my siblings."

**End! Well, the end of this chapter anyway. Interesting twist, no? I think I've got about two more chapters to write. And now I've got myself thinking. 1. How am I going to end this? And 2. Should I post up a sequel? The poles are on and I'm ready for opinions. See you later. B.C., signing out. **


	11. memories retold

**I'm pretty sure there will only be one or two more chapters after this. I can't believe how many reviews I received from everyone. You guys are so wonderful. This chapter will help clarify Starr's past and friendship with Kai and Tala. Hope you like it. Replies go to:**

**Skarmory: Thank you for the review.**

**Wreckless Spirit: here's the update you wanted. Thank you so much for the review and the explanation. I never thought of that before. I love Skye and Blue. Aren't they sweetest little things!**

**Avatar of Fyre and Ashes : I see you changed your user name. Awesome! I love fire. No. Blue is blind. I had to find a way to make it interesting. Hope you like this chapter.**

**CrimsonSkye06: Here is the updated you wanted. Hope you like it.**

**Luckigurl12: thank you! I shall write a sequel. As of now I am accepting ideas for the sequel. Please email me if you have any questions.**

**Kyogue: yes. Blue is blind. I will write a sequel. If you have any ideas, please email me. **

**Bladebreakers: this chapter will help clarify much of Starr's past.**

**Atem's Queen of the Nile: Thank you for that information. That is a very clever idea. I did not think of that. You think so? I hope you like this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own beyblades. I do own Starr, Blue and Skye, and the plot.**

**Chapter 10: Memories retold**

**Starr's POV.**

I watched Rei's facial expressions closely but I couldn't make anything out other than confusion. He seemed to be deep in thought. I couldn't blame him. I sighed. I knew that it was inevitable. I was going to have to share my past with him.

"Rei?" I asked him.

He stood up and turned towards the door.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked sadly, looking into my eyes. I saw sorrow, sorrow and so much pain it hurt.

"Rei..." I said softly, but the door had already swung shut behind him.

"Blue!" Skye exclaimed as his twin lurched awkwardly out of the room, following Rei.

I sat on the bed, holding Skye in my lap and rocking him gently.

**Rei's POV.**

I walked out of the room with a huge amount of guilt. Here I was abandoning her when she needed me the most. I turned around when I heard someone call out my name.

"Rei!"

I turned to see Blue, standing alone and frightened in the middle of the hallway. I walked over to her and tapped gently on her shoulder. She whirled around, scared, and grabbed my pants with both hands.

"Are you Rei?" she asked, trembling.

"No. This is Rei's pant leg. Rei is up here." I said and squatted down so my face was directly in front of her. She grinned and hugged me, mindful of my broken arm.

"I'm going to pick you up, okay? This is going to be kind of hard since I only have one working arm. I'm going to bend down and I want you to wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist. Understand?" I asked her.

"Yes." she said. Luckily we got it on the first try and she rested on my hip as I wondered around. I thought I was lost until I finally found the elevator. Once downstairs, I found myself in a maze of hallways.

"Oh, this is hopeless. I'm part neko-jin and I'm lost again." I sighed, frustrated.

"We'll find a way out, don't worry. This place is not a prison. Be patient and don't ever quit." Blue told me.

"You're right. We will escape from this evil place of doom." I said determinedly. She laughed and we went along for some time.

"Light!" I shouted as we finally reached our destination. I practically lunged out of the building into the brilliant white sunlight. The pleasantly dry air warmed my skin.

"Ha-ha. You're funny Rei." Blue said.

I walked over to a brown wooden bench and sat down. I placed Blue on my lap and stared absentmindedly at the playground across the street while she played with my hair.

"You can not blame Starr for keeping her secrets, Rei. She has gone through so much for so long all alone. Please, try to understand. Rei, why are you crying?" Blue finished as she wiped drops of wetness off of her bare arm. Her voice was soft, kind, and understanding.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and shook my head, even though I knew she couldn't see it.

"Nothing. And everything." I said. Not a trace of confusion crossed her face at all. Instead, a serious expression took over.

"Talk to me about it. I'll tell you about Starr's past so she will not have to." she said simply. I marveled at the amount of innocence the voice possessed. Without even agreeing I leaped into my personal life, pouring everything I had into it. I spilled everything.

"I was not even wanted in the world. I was...I am a rape child. I never has a father and my mother died when I was five. I became an orphan. I was always picked on because I was a neko jin. Cat demon in a world of humans. I never had enough food or clothes. It was then my only friend, Noemi, told me of a village a little farther up the mountain that accepted any orphans. She took me there and I met my future teammates of the White Tigers. Eventually, I traveled here and became a member of the Bladebreakers. That is my life story. Sometimes it is still too hard to believe that I actually went through all of that." I finished with a sigh. I waited for Blue to say something. She seemed to be thinking.

"You know what, Rei. You are the bravest person I know besides Starr. You are a very strong person."

"I don't feel strong. I feel... I feel hopeless." I confessed.

"It is alright to feel this way. You're just being human, but don't ignore your emotions. It will only cause trouble."

I thanked her and we sat in silence for a minute. I watched a young boy swing across some blue monkey bars.

"Starr grew up with a father, a mother, and us. Our parents fought a lot, but we all stuck together. Mother was raped, beaten, and murdered when Starr was seven and we were only one. Boris, whom I sure you know is our father, sent us to live in Russia at Tala's mansion. A few months later, he started abusing Starr. Occasionally, he took her to Biovolt, where she met Kai and Tala. Tala later found out from Kai that the two children he had been forced to look after were actually her siblings. He was really nice to us, Tala was. Once Boris learned that Starr was able to control Black Dranzer, he went crazy. Well, I suppose he was born crazy, but this time he went nuts. He became corrupted by the thought of ultimate power. Tala was summoned back to Biovolt and he brought us here with him. He left us here at this hospital where we waited for you." Blue finished and scratched her arm.

She looked at me with unseeing eyes and I almost started to cry. _'She's so young,' _I thought,

' _and she has never even seen the wonders of the world'. _I hugged her closely to me.

"I never knew. Thank you for telling me this, but how did you know everything?"

"Tala. He told me everything since they always found a way to contact each other."

"Can ask you something else."

"You just did!" Blue exclaimed happily. "Sure."

"I remember earlier Starr touched her hand to yours in several different positions. Why?"

"Oh, that. That is just our little friendship handshake. It is my way of recognizing her since I can't see her."

"I understand now. I'm going to go see Starr. Let's go." I said. I looked down in my lap only to see that Blue had fallen asleep. I carefully laid her on the bench and stood up. I stretched, popping the bones in my wrists and necks. I picked her up, careful not to wake her, and walked back into the hospital.

The elevator rose slowly and I tapped my foot to the soft music that played. We reached the seventh floor a few minutes later. I found Starr's room easily and took a deep breath. I couldn't really knock on the door so I pushed it open with my foot. I walked in, wincing as the door barely brushed against the cast on my arm.

The room was empty. Starr was gone, as was Skye, and the only sign that suggested the room had once been occupied was a mussed spot on the bed sheet. Confused, I stepped quietly over to the bed and set Blue down gently on the bed. I pulled the covers over her sleeping frame and sat down in a comfy hunter green chair.

I felt myself slipping into a light and comfortable sleep. I wriggled down into the chair for warmth. The image of the room faded into my dreams. _'I will apologize to Starr when I wake up.' _I thought slowly and yawned. _'Night Blue.'_

**I didn't really accomplish much on this chapter but I've already got the next one half done so it should be finished any day now. This chapter mostly explains Starr's past and her two siblings. I think I covered everything. Oh, wait! So you know I will be making a sequel. See you later. **


	12. Healing

**I am so sorry this update came so late. I had no idea what to right and couldn't be bothered to get off my rear and think for once. My birthday is coming up soon. YAY for me. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. It may be a while before I update again. I've got no clue as to how to end this. Replies are below.**

**Disclaimer: Never have, never will.**

**Kyogue: It is sad, but I had to add a little twist. And there will be another surprising twist in the sequel. Hope you like this chapter. **

**Wreckless Spirit : Thank you! I'm glad you like my fanfic so far.**

**MooMooMilk: Thanks for the review.**

**Skarmory: Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.**

**Luckygurl12: Tank you vewy, vewy much. Here's the update you wanted.**

**Bladebreakers: Thank you very much. **

**Richard: As you wish... The update has arrived. (sorry if i forgot anyone)**

**I thought I should give a character profile for Skye and Blue since a sequel will be written shortly after this ends. So you know Starr changed her last name and the names of her siblings to sever any ties she might have to being Boris's daughter.**

**Skye Kayasaki:**

**hair: dark blonde**

**eyes: greyish blue**

**personality: overprotective of his sister, Blue. His weakness is food and he loves hot chocolate. Say dinner and he'll come running. He likes to play in the snow (there's lots of it where he lived). He absolutely hates any idea of his sister being in danger and being patient. He speaks English and learned Russian from Tala. He is older by three minutes.**

**Blue Kayasaki:**

**hair: same as Skye's.**

**eyes: light misty green eyes**

**personality: her eyes darken according to her mood although she cannot see. She likes animals and can sing very well for an eight year old. Her hobbies are singing and writing (she uses a braille computer). She speaks English and learned Russian from Tala. She hates elevators. Younger by three minutes.**

**Chapter 12:Healing **

**Starr's POV.**

I took Skye with me and we went to check on Kai. He was sound asleep when we entered the room. Most of his lower body and chest were covered in sterile white gauze. In some places the gauze was stained a yellowish red. I pulled up a chair and looked at the faint scars on his arms and face.

Most of them were from the abbey, the scars, I mean. He looked vulnerable somehow, lying there on that hospital bed. The blue face paint he normally wore was misshapen and almost completely gone. I saw one single line, only slightly darker than the other scars, that ran cleanly from the left side of his face to just above his throat. I noticed the remains of the paint would have completely covered the scar.

'_So that's why he wears the face paint. To cover his scar. I wonder where he got it from. I know he must have had it for a long time because he had the face paint on before I met him, and he was eight years old then.' _I thought.

I looked again at the perfect line. It truly was perfect. No bumps, no jagged edges. This was done by a steady hand. Someone who was trained, but why and with what? _'I'll ask him later.' _

I sank deeper and deeper into my thoughts, becoming oblivious to the world around me. I remembered my mother, always trying to protect me from my father's evil ways. Countless slaps and curses she had endured for me. A sudden surge of pure, unadulterated hatred shot through me as I recalled her death at the hands of a criminal never caught.

I remembered the day before everything had changed. An emotion long forgotten raced through my head and I shook it, trying to avoid the tears that I knew would follow.I took a deep breath andbit my lip, but not before they escaped. They fell down my face and landed on Kai's cheek, marring the distorted paint even further.

"Skye has to go to the restroom." Skye said. He jumped off of my lap and walked out into the hallway. His sneakers squeaked on the freshly polished tiles. He grinned momentarily before zooming down the rest of the way at a run.

I sank back into the chair, tears gone, and watched the steady rising of Kai's chest.

**Rei's POV.**

I opened my eyes, yawned, and tried to stretch. Note the word 'tried'. Someone giggled and snuggled into my stomach.

"Blue." I moaned, complaining falsely. She was sitting on my stomach with a smile across her face.

"What?"

"You know what." I said, sitting up and bringing her into my lap gently. Her dark blond hair fluffed about her face, making her look like a little angel.

"Rei-Rei, lets go see Starr. I want my big sister here too." Blue said. She crossed her arms in a fake pout and a cute pink blush appeared on her cheeks.

"You look like an angel." I said.

"I can sing like an angel too, but first I want to go see Starr. Please." she begged and carefully reached down with her feet. She hopped onto the floor and I stood up. She wrapped her small body around my left leg and I walked out of the room slowly.

She giggled merrily all the way down the hall, clutching tightly to my leg.

"Blue! What are you doing?" came a boys shout. Skye came running down the hall, ignoring the disapproving looks he received from the nurses and doctors in the hospital. He braked in front of us, gave me a glare eerily similar to Kai's, and pried Blue off of my leg.

Her happy expression immediately became solemn as she recognized her brother's stern voice. Her misty green eyes darkened to a and her head tilted downwards in a silent apology.

"Sorry, Skye. I was having fun." Blue's voice trembled.

"Don't cry, Blue. I'm sorry. I only wanted you to be safe. Starr wouldn't like it if you got hurt." Skye apologized, embracing his younger sibling in a hug.

I smiled at the sight. _'He truly cares about his sister. I wonder what it would be like to have a sibling.'_

I was pulled form my thoughts as someone tugged on my hand. I looked down and saw Blue, gripping my fingertips loosely.

"Lets go. Starr is in Kai's room. He is still unconscious." said Blue. Skye led the way while I guided Blue by a hand around her shoulder. Her footsteps were hesitant at first, but they steadied out gradually.

We reached Kai's room without any incident and Skye pushed open the door open.

**Starr's POV.**

The door opened and Rei entered. Blue was latched to his hand and Skye led the way.

"Rei." I said quietly. Before I could finish what I had wanted to say, I was being hugged closely to his chest. For a while I stood there, feeling the warmth and security I had been denied for so long. I felt safe, like nothing in the world mattered to me at that moment other than him.

He pulled me closer and I closed my eyes, listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart against his chest.

"I'm sorry, Starr, for acting the way I did. I just needed some time to think and what you did hurt because I felt like you didn't trust me." Rei said softly.

"I understand, Rei. I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything, but I never really got the chance." I said. He pushed me back and looked into my eyes.

"It's okay. So, how is Kai?" asked Rei, switching his attention to the unconscious teen in the bed beside them. Or so they thought.

If they had been paying attention instead of being lost in their own little world they would have noticed the sudden spike in the heart rate. Kai had been awake the whole time, watching them, one tiny crimson slit observing his friends every movements.

**Kai's POV. **

'_He he he.' _I thought evilly. _' I should scare them.' _

"Are you finished with your love scene yet?"

Starr and Rei were startled by the sudden voice and jumped. They turned to face me. Rei held an amused look in his eyes and laughed. Starr gave me an evil glare.

"You stupid little mother ..." a hand covered her mouth before she could finish her sentence.

"Children, Starr. Children." Rei told her, removing his hand from her mouth.

"Yes. My innocence. My innocence. Help me, ahhhh!" cried Skye dramatically as he fell to the ground, clutching his ears and moaning.

"Skye!" Blue yelled, laughing at her brother's sense of humor. Starr grinned and picked Blue up. She sat her on the chair beside her and walked to stand next to Rei.

"I'm glad your alright, Kai." Rei said warmly.

"You...call this alright? I look like a mummy." I retorted wearily. I yawned, feeling the drugs in the iv starting to take affect again.

"Get some sleep, Kai. You look like someone who got hit by an eighteen-wheeler." Starr said, yawning herself.

"I feel like one too." I said, and I fell asleep.

**Rei's POV.**

"Let's go get something to eat for ourselves and the kids. Visiting hours are almost over and it's already 5:30 pm." My stomach growled and I thought I smelled pizza.

"Taken care of."

"Tala!" I turned around to see the red-haired teen entering the room. Two boxes of hot cheesy pizza in one hand and a drink holder in the other hand, he flashed a small smile. He placed the pizza down warily as Starr gave a strange look. As soon as he had unloaded everything, she took off and glomped him.

"Tala. You're okay." she said, removing herself from his spot of the floor. He twitched and lay there.

"Tala!" shouted Skye and Blue simultaneously. Skye ran to his guardian of eight years and was greeted by a calloused hand ruffling his dark blond hair affectionately. Blue whimpered softly and Tala picked her up. He swung her around twice before for setting her down on his hip.

"Hey, Blue. Did you miss me?"

"Yes. I missed you Tala. Lots and lots." Blue hugged Tala.

"So, you guys didn't forget me after all." he said, turning to us.

"Thanks, Tala." I said. "I owe you my life."

"No problem. I have to be a hero for these little guys." he said pulling Skye towards him again. He looked...almost like a father to them. I could tell they both loved him very much. '_And it is my hope that some day I'll be able to stand next to them and they will think of me as their father.' _I thought hopefully.

"Can we please eat now? We're starving and the pizza smells sooooo delicious. " Skye and Blue whined together.

I smiled and we sat down at a small table near the window. I don't ever remember pizza tasting so good.

**End. Phew, that was a long one. Anyways, I've almost got the hang of typing without looking at the keyboard so I should be able to update my stories just a little faster now. I haven't decided on the tile of the sequel yet but I'm pretty sure it will be called 'Seeing Grey' . Should I use these characters in other little one shots and other stories I might post up in the future?****Oh, and one more note. I will allow others to use my characters but only if they email me first. (Whoa. My dad just asked me if 5 times 1 was 1. Creepy.)**


	13. Thinking and Thoughts

**The last chapter sucked so this one is gonna make up for it. Thanks to everybody who reviewed. I can't believe how far I've gotten on this thing. I think that the next chapter will be the last chapter. Maybe I'll do a spinoff series and make several one shots on what happens next. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. If anybody wants to use any of my characters for their stories, go ahead. **

**Review replies are owed to:**

**Wreckless Spirit: thanks. I'll try to post up the first chapter sometime next week.**

**Skarmory: yes, Blue is blind. Wow, you are actually the first person who noticed something unique about their names. I love nighttime almost more than anything in the world. : ) **

**Bladebreakers :thanks. I hope you like the update. **

**Luckygurl12 : I'm glad you like Blue. She is just so cute. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you like this chapter.**

**Kyogue: Yeah. I'll try to do a fluff scene. I think I will post it as a separate story because some people may be offended by it. **

**Atem's Queen of The Nile: I hope you like. **

**Sorry if I forgot anyone. Okay. I know I'm going to sound stupid to everyone but does anyone now how to change a freaken email address? I don't really like the one I have now and I'm not all that great with computers. Try explaining this to a person who is honestly a little blonde. There is a small fluff scene at the end. No sex though.**

**Chapter 13: Thinking and Thoughts **

**Two week later: Kai Hiwatari is still in the burn unit in the hospital. He has a long way to go but is recovering at a rate that has even the doctors stunned. Rei still takes painkillers and he is starting to get tired of the heavy cast on his arm. Starr left the hospital with only minor cuts and scratches. Tala is well...he's busy being himself. **

**Rei's POV.**

Starr sat outside on the wooden railing surrounding the dojo. A storm was approaching in the distance, and ominous clouds loomed in the sky. The scent of rain and damp earth filled my senses and it calmed me. Thunder rumbled low in the sky and lightning flashed in the distance.

I opened the microwave and placed two mugs of water in. Hot tea seemed perfect on a day like this. One minute and thirty seconds later, I dropped the tea bags into the cups, mixed in the sugar, and pushed the door open.

A refreshing wind caressed my face as I walked over to Starr. I placed one mug beside her and sat down on the railing, watching her. She had a faraway look in her eyes, like she was thinking about something that confused her.

"Starr?" I asked and lightly touched her shoulder. I received no response.

"She's only thinking. Its fine." Tala walked over to where I was as the door closed behind him.

"What?" I asked, slightly confused.

He chuckled and his ice blue eyes stared at me. "She gets like this when she's thinking really hard. . Its nothing to worry about. She'll completely zone out sometimes and it can last anywhere from 5 minutes to an entire hour. She just blocks out the whole world and thinks." he explained.

I blinked twice. I had never heard him talk so much. Ever since I found out that Starr and Tala knew each other, the red-headed Russian had become much more open.

He must have seen the expression on my face because he smirked. "I can be quite talkative if I so desire. I can see that this might take a little while for you to adjust to that."

About three minutes later I picked up the insult in his sentence.

"Hey! That wasn't very nice." I told him. His eyes shone with amusement.

"Wow. For a part neko-jin, I'd say your rather slow." he said teasingly.

Before I could retaliate, I found myself rubbing my arm and staring up at a sniggering Tala and one laughing child from the ground below.

"Ha-ha.. The kitty cat fell." chuckled Tala. Skye looked over the railing and copied him. He fell to the floor, giggling and clutching his stomach.

Blue had a startled look on her face. She gripped the railing tightly and inched her way down the wooden steps.

"Rei?" she asked, her voice trembling in fear.

"I'm alright, Blue." I comforted her. She followed my voice and stumbled into my lap. I hugged her with one hand and stood up. I brushed my pants off and guided her up the steps.

"That wasn't nice, Blue. You didn't have to go and push Rei off of the railing. He has a cast on, remember?" Blue shouted angrily.

Skye stared at his sister, head bowed in guilt. He looked meekly at me.

"I'm sorry Rei. For pushing you. I won't do it again."

"Apology accepted." I said.

"Hello, Rei. When did you get here?" Starr asked.

**Starr's POV.**

I blinked, pulling myself away from my thoughts. Slowly the familiar color and background noise drifted back into my eyes and ears. I saw Rei carefully steering Blue up the stairs. Blue yelled at Skye and he mumbled an apology.

"Hello, Rei. When did you get here?" I asked.

"Actually I've been out here for quite a while. Tala and I were..." I paused, trying to think of a good word.

"Talking." Tala finished. "About what you and I and the kids are going to do now that Boris is gone for good."

Blue and Skye stopped playing as they heard themselves being mentioned. Blue took a huge step towards me and grabbed my pants.

"I wanna stay with Rei. I don't wanna leave. Rei is nice and funny and he is always polite to me. Please, please, please, please let me stay." Blue pleaded. Her eyes darkened to grass green and she clung to my leg tightly.

"Why not? I don't have anywhere else to go. Do you think it would be alright if we lived in Tyson's dojo?" Starr asked. She shivered as a chilly breeze blew by, heavy with the scent of rain. Thunder boomed in the distance and the grass danced as the wind picked up.

I walked over to Starr and sat down. I pulled her into my lap slightly, so her head was resting on my chest. I hugged her tightly and breathed in her scent. She smelled of lilies-of-the-the-valley and lavender.

Starr gave Tala a meaningful look and he heard her unspoken words. He picked up Blue, who jumped slightly at the sudden contact, and went inside. Skye followed immediately and gave Starr a small smile before disappearing after them.

**Starr's POV.**

"What was that all about?" I heard Rei ask me.

I chose not to answer. Instead I looked up at the night sky, laden heavily with storm clouds. No stars were visible. I sank back into Rei's chest even more and tried to breathe deeply. The nervousness in my stomach slowly subsided and I relaxed in his lap.

The sky darkened as the sun dropped below the trees, casting an eerie orange glow that streaked the clouds. The temperature fell and a light misty rain filled the air. A chilly wind blew by and I shivered involuntarily.

"Cold?" I heard Rei ask. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Cold." I replied and turned to face him.

Just then I felt warm, hesitant lips on my own. They pressed softly, carefully, lovingly against my own. I was too shocked to do anything. Almost as soon as it began, the kiss was over. Rei pulled back and looked at me guiltily.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Starr. I don't know what came over..."

I cut him off by reaching down and kissing him. It scared me that I would do something like that but my fear subsided as he began to kiss back. We parted silently and he stared at me. A goofy smile crossed his face and froze there. A red blush tinted his face and I giggled at his expression.

The crickets chirped and night came. All was quiet as I layed there in his lap. He blinked twice and watched the rain fall. Lightning flashed occasionally as the storm passed overhead.

"I guess you aren't cold anymore." he said finally. I just laughed.

**Aww! I love the ending of this chapter. I apologize if anyone was offended by the fluffy ending, but I did have a warning at the top. Only one more chapter and that should do it. Then I can get off my fat lazy butt and start working on my other stories seeing as how they have been sooooo neglected. Happy New Year, everyone. **


	14. Beginnings and Endings

**Hey guys. I have sooooo much homework but I really don't feel like doing it. In fact, I really don't feel like writing right now, but I don't want to let you guys down. My gramps is in the hospital, where everybody goes when they're older. Which I guess is alright, but I grew up with him and he raised me. He only has about four more years to live. Anyways, sorry about my depressing life. Review replies go to:**

**Wreckless Spirit: Thanks for the info. I'll try to do that. I said try, cause me and computers don't get along very well. Hope you like this chapter.**

**Skarmory. You're welcome. Thanks for the review. I hope you like this final chapter.**

**Luckygurl12: Glad you liked it. Hope you like this chapter. **

**And anyone else I forgot.**

**Chapter 14. Beginnings and Endings**

**Rei's POV.**

Starr and I had decided to visit Kai in the hospital. Tala said he was getting a bit "restless" to which Starr raised her eyebrows. Tala mumbled something about "being safer by staying at the dojo" and happily agreed to watch the children while they were gone.

"Good luck." he whispered and shut the door behind them quickly.

Starr gave him a raised eyebrow and then we started off towards the hospital. Autumn was starting to fade. The sun rose brightly in the sky, but little heat came from it. All was quiet save for our footsteps crunching in the damp leaves.

I reached out and tugged her hand slightly. She looked at me and nodded. I slipped my hand into hers and we walked hand in hand. A warmth washed over me and I felt my cheeks glow pink.

I heard her footsteps stop. She turned and looked at me. Her face ignited in a cute blush as she pulled me closer to her. Our lips met in a soft kiss. We pulled back and gazed at each other.

As if nothing had ever happened, she turned around and started walking again. I followed her, still hand in hand, towards the hospital. Three blocks later, as we approached the building, an ominous sense of dread began to fill me. I glanced at Starr, walking confidently towards the hospital, and resisted the urge to laugh at myself. _'Why should I be scared of a hospital visit?'_

We entered the cool, air-conditioned building and stepped up to the front desk. A young, cheerful- looking women, looked up from her paperwork briefly before smiling.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"Yes. We are looking for a Mr. Kai Hiwatari. The last time he was here he was in the intensive care unit being treated for burns. But that was two weeks ago..." Starr stopped as the look on the nurse's face.

Suddenly a loud bang issued from upstairs, as well as several muffled yells. Clinks that signaled equipment being thrown grew more and more frequent.

"Code Green! Code Green!" blared the intercom system.

"That would be him now." she said.

Sure enough, five seconds later, an extremely pissed looking Kai stumbled down the stairs. If it weren't for the several angry doctors running behind him, I would have found the entire situation comical.

"KAI HIWATARI!" Starr yelled. The entire hospital grew silent in a matter of seconds. I watched as she stalked up the stairs towards the grey and blued haired patient. I followed, making sure to stay a few feet behind her.

She came face-to-face with him and stared at him. All eyes in the hospital were on her, waiting to see what would happen. Finally, Kai spoke.

"Get me out of here. I'm perfectly fine." he growled between his teeth, staring Starr in the eyes.

Starr gave him a merciless glare could silence the demons of hell if they ever escaped.

"Unless you want every bone in your body broken, I suggest you shut up and let the doctors do what they need to do."

"Make me." he said.

The audience that had formed gasped. Somehow, they all knew that Kai had said his death words.

An evil grin spread across Starr's face. Before anyone could blink she brought her foot up and kicked Kai in the...well...you know.

He fell to the ground and curled up into a fetal position, whimpering softly.

"If you show me the way, I'll take him back to his room."

The doctors, who were too stunned to say anything, nodded without speaking. She picked up Kai, who had apparently passed out, and threw him over her shoulder. The doctors led us up the stairs and across the hallway. We made a left and got into an elevator. Starr dropped him unceremoniously onto the floor and he groaned but did not waken.

Two floors later, the elevator dinged. We got out and made a right turn.

"His room number is 237." one male doctor said before rushing off. The others sighed at the break in the silence and used this as an excuse to leave.

**Starr's POV.**

We walked into Kai's room, which was only three doors down from where the doctors had left.

I dropped Kai onto the bed. He was still unconscious. I noticed that Rei hadn't spoken since I had kicked Kai in his manhood.

He sat down without a word in a lemon yellow chair. _'Did I scare him?' _I asked myself.

"Are you okay?" I asked and sat on his lap.

"I never knew Kai didn't like hospitals." he said, after thinking for a while.

"Damn right I don't!"

Kai was sitting up in bed. "What the fuck was that for, kicking me there?"

"Well, you need to behave yourself. You were acting like a four-year-old. Whatever happened to the mighty Kai, huh?" I all but shouted at him.

Kai winced, partly because of the loudness in my voice, and partly because his friend had sustained more damage than he had anticipated.

Apparently Rei had seen this because he started to snicker.

"Shut up, Rei." Kai demanded. He couldn't believe Starr actually kicked him in the privates in front of all the people.

"Sorry, Kai. I have to admit, it was kind of funny." Rei said, smiling.

"See. Rei thinks it's funny." I said, motioning to Rei.

"Excuse me. Visiting hours are over." came a voice.

We all twisted our heads to see a petite nurse standing in the doorway, holding a clipboard and a tray. She walked in and set the tray, which had two pills on it and a glass of water.

"I am not taking those." Kai said, wincing slightly as he crossed his arms.

"Oh yes you are!" I said, stepping closer to him. He gave a small yelp and obediently swallowed the two pills. Within a matter of minutes, he was sound asleep.

"Thank you. Those will keep him quiet for a while." the nurse said, waiting for us to leave first.

Rei walked out and I followed, leaving the nurse to tend to the other patients. Outside, the sun had already sank down beneath the trees and the night sky was taking over, bruising the little light that was left.

"Rei!" I shouted as he grew further and further ahead. He stopped and waited as I caught up.

"Carry me, please?" I asked.

He lifted me onto his back and continued walking. The darkness of night descended over the city and a sprinkling of stars shone in the sky. I rested my head on his shoulder and breathed in his scent. Suddenly, I felt something stirring in my mind.

'_Hello Starr.'_

'_Charity!' _I let out an audible gasp.

"What is it, Starr?"

"Its Charity. She's back, Rei." I said, letting my tears fall.

'_Forever, Starr. I'll always be here for you.'_

'_Thanks, Charity.' _I thought and wiped my eyes as she faded into the back of my mind.

"I'm glad she's back Starr. I'm happy for you." he said and continued walking. It was then that I knew everything was going to be different. It was a new beginning for me, and I planned to make the best of it.

I remembered how it had all started. Finding Rei. Battling Max. Being kid-napped by my own father. Being possessed by Black Dranzer. Meeting my brother and sister again. Falling in love. Everything played through my head. I smiled as the images disappeared and I focused on Rei.

'_So this is what its liked to be loved.' _I thought as I fell asleep. I felt him stop as he heard my breathing even out. Slowly he started again, his footsteps echoing in my mind.

**E...N...D **


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